TPOE 294: Naoise Roo

The Point of Everything

Dublin-based artist Naoise Roo released her second album Emotionally Magnificent on October 27 and brings the curtain down on the project with 'The Last Headline Show Ever Probably' at the Workman's Club on Friday, February 2, featuring special guests Paddy Hanna and Clara Tracey and support from Danny Carroll. On this episode, Naoise talks about some of the reasons why the project is coming to an end and we talk through Emotionally Magnificent track by track. Buy the album: https://naoiseroo.bandcamp.com/merch/emotionally-magnificent-vinyl-special-edition Sign up to the TPOE newsletter (free): https://tpoe.substack.com/ --- Naoise Roo's Instagram message about 'The Last Headline Show Ever Probably': Years ago, I remember seeing an update on Simple Kid’s website that included a picture of him and the words "Simple Kid is working out what he wants to do with the rest of his life" or some similar sentiment. I've thought about that a lot over the years. I think its time to explore some other things. There is never a time that seems easy to stop; it always feels like sustainable creative success is just around the corner, that you are waiting on a bus to speed you towards a new destination. However, those of us who have been in this game a long time are often faced with the realisation that the destination doesn't really exist — or when it does, no one knows how long it will last. I think I'd like to switch gears and take a paddleboat somewhere, nowhere in particular. I don't really care about success in the traditional sense. I do, however, care about peace, and trying to be the best version of my creative self. Over the last few years, I have realised that the aspects of this work I value the most involve being in the studio, being with people I love and trust, and making something magic. I am far more suited to this cocoon, rather than the emerging butterfly stage of this vocation. Experiencing major losses last year reminded me how emotionally exhausting this industry can be. Being solo is lonely, even though it obviously takes a village to make things happen and I've been privileged to have support across many things. I could conceivably have a hiatus and not make such a boundary, but truthfully I think I want to create space in my life for other things, ideas, projects and also just to be. I've loved making this music and playing this music. I am so intensely grateful that people have written about my music, shared it with other people or have supported me by coming to the shows and buying records and merch. I am also endlessly grateful to all the people I made music with. It would mean a lot if yall would come on Feb 2nd and we see this thing out in style in Workmans. --- From the press release: Released via North Carolina label Schoolkids Records, Emotionally Magnificent is offered as the culmination of a chapter of a journey that takes in both Lilith and Naoise Roo’s 2020 Sick Girlfriend EP, whose four tracks are incorporated here. Combined, it honours the full, sprawling majesty of Naoise Roo as a singular artist. Rather than some throwaway snapshot, released as a mere means to an end, Emotionally Magnificent is a slow focus triumph of reflection and resolve. “The Sick Girlfriend EP had a lot to do with my mental health and how I felt about navigating the music industry,” says Naoise Roo. “‘Falling Stars,’ for example, is about watching all these talented people around me hitting the wall and leaving music because it’s just too hard to keep going. ‘Sick Girlfriend’ itself is basically about the trope of the manic pixie dream girl and how that’s exploited, sexualized or slandered.”