The pop-trio known as “Glades” released their sophomore album, “Planetarium,” on Friday, April 30. Recognized by Billboard, NME and Alternative Press, the group’s pre-released singles “Vertigo” and “Dancing in the Mirror” from “Planetarium” reintroduced listeners to the trio’s unique and evolved sound. 

Originally from Sydney, Australia, the members of Glades are sharing more of themselves with their audience through an electro-pop sound that has evolved since the group’s formation in 2015. The relatable and vulnerable lyrics sung by lead vocalist, Karina Savage, are supported by the work of trio’s instrumentalists and producers, Joey Wenceslao and Cam Robertson.

Savage sat down with The Statesman to speak about “Planetarium,” the group’s evolution and her charming experiences in the United States.

The Statesman: What inspired the group name, “Glades”? 

Savage: It’s like a bit of a funny story. We had been trying to find a name for like three months and all of them were terrible … Cam was snowboarding and then he went down this trail called “the glade.” The word means a wide, open space and we thought that would be a cool name and it linked a little bit with the kind of music we were making back then … That was kind of the reason for the name  — a little snowsled in Australia.

How was the Glades trio formed?

I did a school showcase when I was in year 10 and Joey was in the audience. He heard me sing and he sent the recording to Cam … we got a little bit older and a little bit better playing out instruments and they asked if I would join the band. That’s kind of how Glades was formed. 

What was the inspiration behind your newest album “Planetarium”? 

A lot of personal experiences. One of the songs we wrote because I was getting married and I wanted a song I could walk down the aisle to. It wasn’t necessarily a song we were going to put anywhere, it didn’t have that kind of intention at first. Then we were like, “yeah this is a really awesome song,” and it was called “Planetarium.”  From there a lot  of the songs came after that … “Planetarium” was the song I walked down the aisle to and the first song that we wrote for the album. That’s kind of where the inspiration unraveled from. 

What makes “Planetarium” different from your past work?

The previous album, we kind of wrote in a way where we hadn’t experienced many things in life. We were fresh out of high school and we were just thinking, “it would be cool if a song spoke about this” or “this would be a cool idea” and it was almost like imaginary situations. Now we’re a bit older, a little bit more mature and we’ve changed a lot and experienced a lot of things. This is kind of the first time we’ve started releasing music where it feels a little bit more personal. So, it’s a little bit more of that feeling of vulnerability in this album. 

What is your creative process usually like?

Usually, we try and listen to as much music as we can. Just listening to as many artists as we can that we think are cool. And then we’ll compile some songs together, maybe a playlist, or if we get into a writing room together we’ll show each other all the songs that we’ve been listening to. Once we get the vibe of what we’re all feeling, Cam will start making a track. He’ll either put down a beat and some chords or he’ll start playing something and we’ll just start singing along. And whatever melodies come and whatever feels right kind of forms into a song from there. 

Has the pandemic affected this process at all? 

A lot of the songs [on “Planetarium”] were written before the pandemic so we haven’t had to experience a lot of writing during the pandemic. It was a little bit difficult for us because we all moved to L.A. and we were ready to tour and then the pandemic hit and there is no prospect of doing a tour. One by one we started moving back to Australia and we ended up in different countries. We did do a little bit of writing over Zoom but it didn’t feel the same.

In your short time in Los Angeles, did you experience any culture shocks?

This is gonna sound funny, but my humor is so sarcastic. I’m Australian so we like to destroy people with our humor and when I went to America, I realized that I couldn’t do that because people would think that I was actually being rude. Also, when I went in America for the first time to a grocery store, I’ve never seen so many different kinds of cereal in my life. I didn’t even know that many kinds of cereal existed. 

What do you hope people are taking away from your music on this album?

I hope that they can see that vulnerability is okay. I hope that they are encouraged from our songs and that they’re having a good time listening to it. I hope that it brings in some joy and light in a time where there has been a lot less of that. 

What is next for Glades?

I hope that we’ll be able to tour soon. I hope that people are able to listen to our album and love it. And for us, I hope that we are able to keep making honest music and putting it out there. And being able to affect other people and write about things that they are going through too.