That one gut-wrenching, earth-shattering heartbreak in your 20s is what seems like a universal experience, and for Hebe, songwriting was the only way to process it.
“These songs have come from the rawest of places … I would say like 90% of this EP is written from a fresh wound,” Hebe says.
The Melbourne songwriter laughs about it now, but during one of the hardest periods of her life, she found herself desperately searching for signs.
“You’re searching for an answer for something so badly that anything you see, you’re just going to take as a sign. Like I was literally seeing people’s initials on number plates and going, ‘This is a sign.’ And just putting everything down to those cosmic timings … and placing all of your belief and your self-worth into inanimate objects.”
Talking to Hebe, she has a beautiful way of articulating the strange contradictions of heartbreak. Mood Ring captures what she describes as a “mixed bag” of emotions, with each song carrying its own colour, memory and stage of healing.
“I’m very focused on colour and visuals when I’m playing piano,” she explains.
“Every song kind of feels like a different colour to me. Then I thought about a mood ring.. I would wear it and be like ‘What colour is it today? I was like, ‘Oh, it’s black. Of course it is.'”
I joked with Holly about those TikTok tarot readings, which we all are guilty of believing when we are experiencing a form of grief.
“Those songs were something I needed to get out of me,” she says.
“I needed somewhere to categorise those feelings in my brain.”
The emotional weight of the EP stretches across all seven tracks. ‘Swimsuit’ leans into Y2K pool-party nostalgia, intoxicating crushes and flirtation, disguising impending heartbreak beneath shimmering indie-pop production. On the other hand, ‘Birthmark’, co-produced with producer Alice Ivy, explores a far more introspective side of Hebe’s songwriting, while the delicate ‘Maybe I’m Growing’ reflects finally letting go of an emotion that you buried.
Despite the vulnerability of the record, Hebe admits there are still songs she has to mentally prepare herself to perform live.
“It’s sort of like exposure therapy. I kind of love that bittersweet feeling. It’s like ripping your heart out,” she says.
Now that Mood Ring is finally out in the world, Hebe says there’s a sense of relief in letting go of songs that have lived privately for so long.
“I can release it out into the world and let this go a little bit,” she says.
“I really value that part of the creative process. A lot of the time, a song could just sit in my voice memos for the rest of its life and never see the light of day.”
The next step is bringing those songs to life on stage. Hebe celebrates the EP with a headline show at The Espy on August 8, a night she’s looking forward to not just because of the music, but because of the community that’s grown around it.
“My band are amazing,” she says.
“There are little moments where I get to highlight them, which I’m really excited about. And all of the little Hebe things that have been born out of touring are going to be concentrated in one place.”
From trinket trading to hair clips and lingering conversations around the merch desk, the rituals surrounding her shows have become as meaningful as the performances themselves.
“I’m excited to see people who’ve been supporting me and coming to my shows. I always get so excited to see familiar faces because it’s so comforting.”
Perhaps that’s the real legacy of Mood Ring. What began as a collection of deeply personal songs has become a shared space where heartbreak feels a little less lonely.