“Less is more”

For singer-songwriter Grace Cummings, playing guitar is all about serving the song...

- Ellie Rogers

Grace Cummings hails from Melbourne, and her sophomore record, Storm Queen, was conceived and recorded during the longest lockdown to happen anywhere in the world. The self-produced album has a raw, live feel with little in the way of accompanying instrumentation beyond Grace’s own acoustic guitar - and it’s all the richer for its simplicity and self-restraint. She explains, “I’ve got an album here that is quite sparse and has a lot of space, which was something that was kind of probably just forced on me a little bit because of the pandemic,” before ultimately concluding: “I think that maybe less is more.”

At the very beginning of our interview, Grace makes an interesting distinction: “I do play guitar, but I’m not a guitarist, if you know what I mean? I’m a guitar player.” She is, in fact, also many other things - a singer, a songwriter and an actress - but Grace’s relationship with the instrument is defined by its ability to serve her and her music, rather than the other way around. It’s a distinction that will resonate with many.

She grew up listening to her parents’ collection of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams and Van Morrison records, as well as plenty of traditional Irish music. “I was also obsessed with Wu-Tang Clan, AC/DC, The White Stripes and Radiohead,” she adds for contrast. Another of her all time favourites is Spiritualized, and the influence of frontman Jason Pierce looms large on her elegantly minimalistic approach to tracks such as Up In Flames, Heaven and