Melbourne-based and Hobart-raised artist Mel O’Neill made a formidable first impression with her debut single ‘Taking It Back’ under her Marigolden moniker earlier this month, a neo-soul scorcher with a poignant message, and the second chapter to the single is the release of the music video, a beguiling journey through the streets and wilderness of Hobart, Tasmania. The track, co-produced by Hayden Calnin and Becki Whitton, is a truly open book exorcism of the experience of being a woman and a victim of abuse, while paving the way for the reclamation of her own power, tempering her strength in the fires of ill treatment. Proudly feminist, Marigolden doesn’t shy away from the reality of the damage done and her sometimes confronting but deeply soul-stirring lyricism and delivery are perfectly complimented by the smooth groove of her music.

With a resonant piano chord that breaks through the silence to introduce the track, ’Taking It Back’ expands with a simmering backbeat and subtle bass play, before Mel’s voice gently cuts through the fluid instrumentation, dripping with exasperation. Immediately, the opening lyric “I’m tired of trying to take up as little room as possible through” sets the stage for what’s to come on the remainder of the track - no punches pulled, no holds barred, “take back my power, speak the truth”.

Throughout the track, Marigolden refers to her past and her hometown, and there is a deep sense of hurt when exploring the ways that an action of another has soured some memories of her home. A major theme of the taking back of power for Marigolden is bringing back that love of where she grew up, and this is explored both through the music as well as through the action of the video. The music remains as the tapestry on which Marigolden paints with her words, as she gradually intensifies the velocity of each stroke coming to a peak with the line “grinding my bones into dust and tossing me out into the water, am I sick or just tired of fighting fire with fire?”. ‘Taking It Back’ is a challenging but empowering experience, a truly honest expression of truth and the overcoming of trauma.

Speaking about the clip, Mel shares “my sister and I filmed the video together the summer of 2019 just after I first started recording the song. I wanted the process of creating the video to also be a step in my process of reclamation, which is what the song is all about. So we walked around a few different places in Hobart that make up key memories for me. The street where I grew up, the rivulet I used to hide along, the mountain that I grew up under that had become such a place of solace for me, even streets that hold really dark memories that I used to routinely avoid. It was a really big experience facing these places and allowing the love I have for my home to overcome the fear of what happened there in the past. And to have my sister there with me, holding the space and telling me I could take as much time as I needed in exploring each place, and really meaning it, was huge in terms of self-acceptance. The video begins and ends with me looking over Hobart from the Kunanyi pinnacle, looking over the home I love from the place that always made me feel safe."