Two of Melbourne’s most loved songwriters in their own rights, over the past four years Emma Russack and Lachlan Denton’s joint project has blossomed into an unparalleled creative partnership, far surpassing the duo’s initial expectations. Beginning in 2018 with When It Ends, a collection of unadorned indie-folk that was conceived after one of the pair helped the other move house, over four records the project has somehow managed to slowly evolve without ever feeling too distant from its humble origins.

Looking back on the initial spark that inspired such an ongoing collaboration, the pair are fairly unassuming. “I think in some ways, [making music now] feels not much different and in other ways quite different”, Lachlan explains. “I think the reason the project works so well is that Emma and I are very similar people and have a very similar outlook on music. I’ve always had the feeling ever since Emma and I became friends, that we played a similar role in our own friendship circles. As one another, if that makes sense - like we’re two people who have been on a similar journey through our lives.”

Emma agrees; “I think for me it just evolved in a way where we were hanging out a bit more, and circumstances were such that it was like ‘oh let’s do something together’. But why I wanted to work with Lachlan, was knowing I really respected his songwriting and that we get along really well and he makes me laugh. So that’s a pretty good reason to want to collaborate with someone, if they tick all those boxes.”

A common theme across their past four albums is the effortlessness of the sound - each record plays like we’re peering in on two friends in their comfort zone making music together - something that Emma verifies; “coming together every time is never difficult or feels too different. We know what to expect to a certain expect and that's kind of comforting.”

Perhaps more so than on any of their past albums, on Something is Going to Change Tomorrow, Today…, we can undoubtedly hear Emma, Lachlan and their band having fun. From the charmingly ramshackle title track(s) that bookend the album, to the joyous piano rambles and radiant gospel-tinged hooks of lead single ‘POB’ or the charismatic ‘Oh Alice’, with its warming group harmonies and easy-going ebb and flow, it’s clear that the pair prioritise keeping the process as relaxed and enjoyable as it was when the project started.

“For me personally, it’s a lot more fun than writing my own music” shares Emma. “When I’m writing for my solo music, I feel like thats more serious or something, and I’m like ‘oh god what am I doing…’ This is a lot more fun, and I can kind of detach from it a little bit more. I feel like I can do whatever I want with this project - I can be as silly or as fun, or as sad as I want to be. The only reason we do this is because its fun.”

“Yeah exactly. [Since] we don’t need to do it, it’s not going to be [hard],” Lachlan elaborates. “Some aspects of the band are still super novel and I just think I’m really stoked… I guess what Emma was saying, because nothing is laboured over and because the whole experience is for a different purpose, everything is such a bonus. Everyone really enjoying it or getting a kick out of it feels like such a treat.”

Even on Something is Going to Change Tomorrow, Today…’s most sincere moments, there’s still a reliable touch of playfulness - whether that’s Lachlan telling us he doesn’t mind singing in cliches on ‘Grass is Greener’, or someone yelling out “I’ve fucked up” in the background as Emma coos delicately on the tender ‘Long Road’.

It turns out that working in a pair makes them more comfortable throwing caution to the wind, as Lachlan explains; “it feels like you’re sharing the load - like ‘well if Emma’s fine for us to do that, then I’m fine with it too’. What makes it even funner is that it sorta eggs you on, to be like ‘what we could get away with’, ‘does this warrant a song?’” The pair laugh when I tell them that the “fucked up” line is a personal highlight. “That makes for better records in some cases than if it was laboured over,” Lachlan says, "because a lot of the time you wouldn’t hear that on a regular record - someone would be too concerned to leave it in”.

As part of a friendship circle that sprawls across Melbourne’s music scene (a circle that Emma jokingly describes as “clique-y” when I struggle to choose the word ‘prolific’) and largely extends around Denton’s co-run label Osborne Again, a binding factor is the community’s shared appreciation for creating music that is genuine. Just looking over Osborne Again’s roster, it’s a reoccurring theme; Snowy Band have been celebrated for their intimate and thoughtful take on indie-rock, Dannika’s debut album was disarmingly forthright and conversational, and all of Pop Filter’s music seems to play as an exercise in the immediacy of songwriting.

It’s fitting then, that the album centrepiece is literally a track called ‘Authenticity’, a Denton penned tune that unravels around a reliable chord progression and one of Lachlan’s signature lilting melodies. For a project that stems around having fun and celebrating friendship, it seems to come easily for the pair to put their truest selves forwards.

“Even though I said before I feel a little more detached from them, I honestly feel like I’m more truly myself on these albums,” says Emma, “I almost feel like I don’t feel self conscious. It’s really nice to not analyse what you’re doing…” she laughs, “it’s just being in the moment, man”.

This desire for their collaborative music to be a place where they can show up honestly ties together nicely with the modest approach the two share; they don’t completely lack ambition, but similarly, across these tracks there’s something instantly likeable about the fact that we can tell they’re not doing anything they don’t want to do.

“We’ve got nothing to prove!” shares Emma, “we just really enjoy the experience, and for me, I haven’t really had that experience up until this stage of my life I suppose. It’s about playing music because we like playing music.”

“At the end of the day it’s just a hang,” Lachlan adds, “it’s just a bit of a hangout and the vibe is pretty ‘anything goes’.” And apart from ensuring the final version of the track honours the song they’ve brought in - which for Emma comes with getting a great vocal take, and for Lachlan is about emphasising the key melody - there’s not many rules. “Thats probably the extent, anything else goes… fart on the track, whatever you want to do.”

Through our chat, it becomes obvious that at the crux of the project is friendship, and when listening to the new album, in all its scrappy charm and wide-eyed sincerity, it’s easy to feel as invested in the pair as you are immersed in the record.

Looking back once more, I wonder whether they would’ve expected things to snowball like this when the project first started. “I think from the first record, there was absolutely no expectation and we were probably both pretty surprised that people were quite into it because we didn’t put any effort into it at all,” says Lachlan, “we just recorded it, put it out into the world on Bandcamp, and then there was probably a bit of a ‘oh wow’ moment - [that] this is actually a real project.”

“But then, I feel like now it’s just a really healthy way that Emma and I can get together and play music together, and can kinda keep nurturing our creative relationship as well as our friendship.” Emma continues his thought; “it’s become a healthy wholesome activity to do that brings us together and that’s really nice. It didn’t start out like that and now it’s like ‘oh yay, we’re gonna play a show’ or (she get’s most enthusiastic) ‘yeah, we’re gonna record the album!’”

Finishing the thought, Lachlan adds, “it’s just gotten to a nice point. I can’t imagine that Emma and I will stop making records together at some time soon, it’s just going.” It's some pretty excellent news for Melbourne music fans, and perhaps even better, there’s a whole new album out this Friday for us to dig into.