Colin Hay unleashes more of his dark, musical tendencies on his latest album, “Unleashing Mercury.” Though fans know that the writing of the onetime frontman of Men at Work tends more toward introspective than pop, the songs on this new album are even more textured than those we’ve heard of his past work.
| Onstage |
| Colin Hay |
| When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday |
| Where: The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria |
| Details: $29.50; 202-397-SEAT; ticketmaster.com; Friday’s show is sold out, but tickets might be available through online resellers |
“My father had died,” said Hay, of the life changing circumstances that affected his recent writing. “I felt like he helped me make the record in many ways. … He was an artist, of sort, unfulfilled in many ways.”
Perhaps as a tribute to his father, who spent his life as a piano tuner, Hay has sought to expand his artistry almost from the start. After the musical powerhouse of Men at Work, a staple of the early days of MTV, Hay went on to build a strong solo career.
Working from his home studio, Hay created his music with an array of his musician friends, including his wife Cecilia Noel. Though some might think of the home studio as limiting, Hay dismisses that notion.
“One of the great things about working at home is because I’m there if I really need a fantastic bass player or keyboard player, I can call [one of my friends] and they come up,” he said of his Los Angeles base. “It really doesn’t matter. It’s just a matter of getting the job done.”
Writing, though, is a bit of a different matter. Consider the song “Invisible” that Hay wrote in Melbourne, Australia. The song basically tells about moving through life yet leaving “no trace through this shifting sand.”
Yet Hay insists he is not the type of songwriter who is constantly seeking inspiration.
“I don’t write whenever or wherever I am,” he said, noting he prefers to let songs marinate before they are finalized. “I like them to build up over a period of time and record when I have what I want.”
The song “Send Somebody” developed that way. Starting with a chord structure by Michael Georgiades, that was the key to developing the song including the chorus “send somebody ’cause I’m hanging from a thread now before I come undone.”
Talking about the difference in tone between his 2009 album “American Sunshine,” Hay said that “Gathering Mercury” is another entry in his musical diary.
“Sometimes I tamper with the truth between the songs,” he said of how he presents the songs in his concerts. “It depends on how the planets align. I always try to make it as [cohesive] and entertaining as a I can.”
