'I Want It To Mean Something': Amy Macdonald on 'Is This What You've Been Waiting For?'
Thursday, 10 July 2025
Written by Simon Ramsay
Photo: Olivia Rose
Before they’d heard a note of Amy Macdonald’s first new record in five years, you can imagine the singer’s devoted followers uttering a slightly frustrated ‘definitely’ when they read the album’s wink-wink title. But after getting to grips with ‘Is This What You've Been Waiting For?’, they’ll surely settle for the old adage that good things come to those who wait.
When it comes to releasing new music, one suspects the platinum-selling Scottish troubadour and Rangers fan would rather cheer on Celtic than write songs to satisfy contractual demands or maintain her standing in the industry. A proper artist in every sense of the word, since shooting to stardom with her debut album ‘This is the Life’ in 2007, Macdonald has pursued her vision with unshakeable integrity and laudable authenticity.
Spinning uplifting first-hand tales about real people staring down familiar everyday challenges with an unmistakable contralto vocal that blends folk wisdom with empathetic, streetwise indie cool, she always adds enough fresh flourishes to give each album its own distinct flavour and sense of artistic progression.
Possibly her most sonically rich effort to date thanks to colourful-yet-understated new textures that include luscious synths, propulsive dancefloor rhythms, glossy ‘80s pop smarts and catchy hooks, ‘Is This What You’ve Been Waiting For?’ delivers classic Macdonald catharsis with new twists.
With a massive autumn/winter tour in the diary — including two hometown arena shows at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro plus dates in London, Wolverhampton, Sheffield, Newcastle, Portsmouth, Swansea, Bath, Dublin, Belfast, Cambridge, Nottingham and Manchester — we caught up with her to discuss crafting this all-killer-no-filler sixth record, while also gauging her thoughts on Bruce Springsteen’s influence and why she’s not quite the beaming ray of positivity her music suggests.
You’ve always taken your time between albums, but the gap between 2020’s ‘Human Demands’ and ‘Is This What You’ve Been Waiting For?’ represents the longest of your career thus far. So, what have you been doing in the interim?
“When I put out the last album it was obviously in the shittest time imaginable, right in the centre of Covid, and that meant we had all these tours planned that got cancelled, rescheduled, messed around and whatever else. I was touring with that album until the end of 2022, so although it might look like I put it out and didn’t do anything, I did continue to do stuff. I’m someone who writes all my own songs, too. I always have been. So I just needed the space to do that. I don’t like putting music together just for the sake of it. I want it to mean something, so don’t ever force it. I don’t rush. I just take my time and wait until I feel like it’s perfect. That’s taken a few years this time.”
And I suppose you also need something fresh to write about, which means living life in order to accumulate the kind of experiences that fuel your storytelling.
“Yeah, exactly. I like writing about real life, things that have happened to me, stories my friends tell me, things like that. You need to make memories and experience stuff in order to have things to write about. I don’t want to write songs about being on tour, because it’s actually not that interesting and not something most people can relate to. I always want people to listen to my songs and feel they can relate to what I’m singing.”
From the opening title track we hear the evolution in your sound. It’s still got the musical hallmarks of an Amy Macdonald album, only dressed up in shiny new clothing. What was it about either the songs, theme of the record, or maybe where you’re at in your artistic journey right now, that made you want to present the new material in this way?
“I never think about it that deeply. I just go into the studio, have a few reference points and say ‘I’m thinking about this’ and see where it takes us. My voice is quite distinctive so I get a lot of people that say ‘Oh, this sounds like your last record or sounds like this or that.’ But then I also have people like you who say it sounds different. Sometimes you don’t really know where you are with it. But I’ve never tried to cultivate a certain style or anything like that. I’ve just written the songs and let them do what feels right.
“There’s one on the album called We Survive and Jim [Abbiss, producer] saw it as a more quiet, introspective moment. It was halfway done and I was like, ‘No, this isn’t right. It needs to be more upbeat. It needs to be skiffley. It needs to have more rawness to it.’ So we scrapped it and started again. Sometimes you don’t know how it’s meant to sound until you hear how it’s not meant to sound.”
Let’s talk about Can You Hear Me. It’s the first time I've heard someone mix Ennio Morricone with disco textures.
“So, the lyrics were inspired by performing in front of an amazing crowd, a young audience at TRNSMT in Glasgow, who just blew me away. That’s the meaning behind it, but how it started was, I was in a meeting and was told Blondie were maybe going to release a new record and were looking for some songs for it. It was never something that was going to happen, but it was just, ‘If you come up with anything and want to try and submit it we can do that.’ I told my friend that I write with, Matt Jones, and he was like, ‘Let’s try and write one, then.’ That’s why it’s got that ‘70s classic disco vibe. But as soon as I started writing the lyrics and melody and it was in my head, and what it was about with that festival, I was like, ‘This is my song.’”
That song, and your music in general, often has a very positive vibe. Are you trying to inspire listeners with that approach or is singing those songs, at least initially, a way of giving yourself the courage to overcome hurdles?
“Yeah, probably singing to myself. It’s funny because you say you’re hearing glass is half full when I’m a glass, not even half empty, it’s probably smashed on the floor in a thousand pieces, type of person. I always prepare myself for the worst, because if I’m prepared for the absolute worst then I can deal with it and everything else will be a bonus. I’m definitely not a positive, full of beans type, so I am probably trying to convince myself to be that person through music. I want to write songs that can be an escape for people too. To remember it’s not all bad. There are good things we can look forward to in ourselves and everything else.”
Speaking of looking to the future, your well documented love of Bruce Springsteen has resulted in some nice musical nods to him on Forward.
“I didn’t even think about the Born To Run references until I heard the finished recording and someone pointed it out to me. But Forward was actually from a conversation with my band mate Thom [Kirkpatrick]. He was going through a shit time and needed a shoulder. We were chatting away for hours and were meant to be writing. It took us ages to start and when we did he was thinking about his son. And my sister, who’d just had her first baby, I was thinking about all the changes she was going through in her life. That’s where it came from. Some people might listen and think it’s a romance thing, but it’s not. It’s about people, their children and the impact that has on their life. For the better. And because it was quite a poignant subject we wanted to keep it upbeat. Sometimes you can get maudlin and everything then sounds a little dreary, so we wanted to keep it exciting.”
One of this album's biggest strengths is how it’s reminiscent of those ‘80s records you love, such as ‘Born in the USA’ and ‘Thriller’, where every track could be a hit single. At the same time it has a great flow from start to finish. What are the biggest challenges when it comes to sculpting that kind of record?
“With this album, because I had more time, I had loads of songs. I’m not normally prolific. I usually just have enough to scrape by and make a record, whereas this time I had about 25 and actually found that more difficult because I had to be brutal. I came up with these 10. Then it was just a case of arranging them and trying to bring them into the perfect story. I had that done ages ago, just with demos, and when we had all the finished tracks I asked my manager what he thought of the running order. We swapped around one song and that was it. There are unique stories behind every song and that means you don’t need to think about it as much because the songs speak for themselves. Rather than trying to make it start, middle and end it’s more like a collection of short stories rather than a novel.”
One particularly powerful and relatable story is I'm Done, which is about purging toxic people from your life. Was there any particular experience that inspired that tale?
“At points in my life there have been. Friendships, sometimes we feel like because they’ve been there forever that’s just the way it is, and I know so many people that have these friendships – and I say friendships, they’re more like acquaintances – and it causes nothing but stress. I’ve been there, where you meet somebody and are meant to be happy but just feel miserable afterwards. Whereas true friends, they uplift you. You feel energised afterwards and like you could be in a room with them, say absolutely nothing, and still have a good time.
“As I’ve gotten older I’ve realised it’s definitely about quality, not quantity. When I was younger I felt like some sort of failure if I didn’t have hundreds of friends. That just comes from being a bit more confident and able to realise we don’t have a lot of time on earth, so shouldn’t waste it being miserable and feeling like we’re not in these great relationships.”
That also seems to be one of the album’s themes: finding the right support systems.
“Totally. That’s one of the most important things about music, having the right group around you. I wouldn’t still be doing this if it wasn’t for my manager, who was with me from the very beginning as a guitar tech. I wouldn’t want to go on tour and be around people I don’t really care for or don’t feel cared for back. I’m very lucky that I’ve got an amazing group of people around me. My band and crew, some of them have been with me from the very beginning. My drummer Adam [Falkner] was the first other musician I ever played with, 20 years ago. It’s nice to have these people. It feels like somebody you’ve shared the journey with and they’ve been an active part of it rather than just a group of people going to work.”
Finally, it's nearly two decades since you were signed and your debut album released. Are any ideas starting to percolate in your mind about how you'll mark that anniversary?
“I haven’t even thought about it. I know a lot of people do gigs where they play the full album from start to finish, but I don’t know if people would be that interested. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. With social media it’s crazy because there’s now a whole new generation of young fans that are discovering that album for the first time and it feels like it’s a constant circle. It will be strange to say it’s been 20 years, but we’ll see what happens at that point.”
Amy Macdonald’s ‘Is This What You've Been Waiting For?’ is out on July 11 on Infectious.
Amy Macdonald Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed July 16 2025 - LOCARNO Piazza Grande (Switzerland)
Thu July 24 2025 - ROTTWEIL Kraftwerk (Germany)
Sat July 26 2025 - CREUZBERG Burg Creuzburg (Germany)
Tue July 29 2025 - BREMEN Seebuhne (Germany)
Sat August 02 2025 - SAARBRUCKEN Saarlandhalle (Germany)
Sun August 03 2025 - FREIBURG Zirkuszelt Festivalgelande am Mundenhof (Germany)
Thu November 20 2025 - LONDON Eventim Apollo
Fri November 21 2025 - WOLVERHAMPTON University of Wolverhampton at The Civic Hall
Sat November 22 2025 - SHEFFIELD City Hall
Mon November 24 2025 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 City Hall
Wed November 26 2025 - PORTSMOUTH Portsmouth Guildhall
Thu November 27 2025 - SWANSEA Swansea Building Society Arena
Fri November 28 2025 - BATH Bath Forum
Sun November 30 2025 - DUBLIN 3Olympia Theatre
Mon December 01 2025 - BELFAST Telegraph Building
Wed December 03 2025 - CAMBRIDGE Corn exchange
Thu December 04 2025 - NOTTINGHAM Royal Concert Hall
Fri December 05 2025 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
Thu December 11 2025 - GLASGOW OVO Hydro
Fri December 12 2025 - GLASGOW OVO Hydro
Sun February 08 2026 - MUNICH Zenith (Germany)
Wed February 11 2026 - BERLIN Tempodrom (Germany)
Thu February 12 2026 - HAMBURG Sporthalle (Germany)
Fri February 13 2026 - LEIPZIG Haus Auensee (Germany)
Mon February 16 2026 - VIENNA Gasometer (Austria)
Tue February 17 2026 - MILAN Fabrique (Italy)
Wed February 18 2026 - ZURICH Hall (Switzerland)
Fri February 20 2026 - WIESBADEN Schlachthof (Germany)
Sat February 21 2026 - ANTWERP De Roma (Belgium)
Sun February 22 2026 - BRUSSELS Ancienne Belgique (Belgium)
Tue February 24 2026 - UTRECHT Tivoli Vredenburg (Netherlands)
Wed February 25 2026 - GRONINGEN De Oosterpoort (Netherlands)
Thu February 26 2026 - COLOGNE Palladium (Germany)
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