Your songs have always had a social conscience, but the new album feels like it’s taking things a step further. Is it your most political album yet?
My 2004 album Avalanche also had a definite political edge, and the new album feels like its older, slightly more well-reasoned sister. I wrote it in 2016 and the world really did shift that year – from the atrocity in Orlando, to Brexit, to the murder of [British MP] Jo Cox – and that all just poured into the songs. I didn’t set out deliberately to make a statement, but if you’re an artist you need to be aware of and reflect what’s going on. And last year there was an awful lot to reflect.
