The pop industry is a tough place to break but Australian sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso have just managed it for a second time.
Better known as The Veronicas, the identical twins shot straight into the top ten in their native country with albums The Secret Life Of… and Hook Me Up and smashed the global charts back in 2007 with single Untouched.
However, their promising career then ground to a standstill due to internal disputes with label Warner Bros, leading to a lengthy battle over the release of their third album.
The band eventually parted ways with Warner in 2013 and were snapped up by Sony, following what Lisa describes to Her.ie as a “crazy process”.
She adds that the duo’s self-titled new album is “a natural progression for us as women and artists” and comes against a backdrop of Lisa’s visit to Nashville and Jessica’s “work on her spirituality and growing in that sense”.
The sisters have also used their unintended absence from the industry to work on personal development, from wildlife conservation projects to broadening their songwriting.
“If you’re working in the music industry for too long, it can get very ego-driven, which is tiresome and frustrating,” she says.
The Veronicas have often been described as “before their time”, with their electro pop releases coming long before the advent of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.
The music industry as a whole has also changed dramatically since the sisters launched their career and while many would argue that the advent of social media has damaged the musical landscape, Lisa is a little more philosophical.
“You can also discover artists and widen your tastes, I love that element. I think, as artists, it lets you connect on a more intimate level with your fans. It gives you a lot more creative control in what you reveal to them so they can become more personally invested in the artists themselves, rather than just a track or album. It has decreased the value of music in some ways but on the other hand, your music is going to be heard so much more.”
The new pairing with Sony has been a fortuitous one, with the first single from their new album going straight to the top of the charts.
You Ruin Me is an emotional, tear-soaked ballad inspired by the breakdown of Lisa’s relationship and she admits that the track is the “easiest song I’ve ever written”.
“We wrote You Ruin Me right at the end. We had the album already done so it was completely unexpected. We were in the studio writing after dinner, so it could just as easily never have happened. It’s definitely the most selfish song I’ve ever written, it was therapeutic. Because the album was finished, we weren’t thinking about style or anything.”
Releasing a single that sounded so different to what their fanbase was used to was definitely a risky move for The Veronicas and the outspoken duo couldn’t help but give the proverbial ‘two fingers’ to their former label once it hit the top spot.
Lisa says that the track has been the perfect rebirth for the band and she believes the confessional nature of the song has been the key to its success.
“We’ve just been blown away, it’s more than we could ever have imagined. The song has moved so many people and after all the legal battles and having people not support us for so long, it’s amazing to have people believe in you and support your vision,” she said.
“I find it quite empowering. The fact that it is so personal is what makes it powerful. It comes from a really honest place and that is what moves people. That’s why I adore Michael Jackson because he was so vulnerable and you could tell he meant what he was singing. There’s nothing phony or contrived.”
The new album will be released on March 13th, with second single If You Love Someone out now.
