Alyssa Gallarneau writes songs with a strong sense of place. A departure gate, a London garden studio, the mountains of Mexico — on her debut album, For The Record, settings become part of the emotional language.
Splitting her time between Chicago and Bloomington, Indiana, the singer-songwriter draws from pop, folk and a more intimate storytelling tradition, often approaching a song as though she were constructing a scene. Images and symbols recur across the record, leaving details to reveal themselves slowly rather than explaining everything at once.
The album took shape across several months and three countries before Gallarneau travelled to London to record with producer Ian Barter. Along the way, family, faith, travel and memory found their way into the songs — including a collaboration with her older sister Brittany that draws on their shared connection to aviation.
With For The Record now out, Good Hours spoke with Gallarneau about writing visually, recording far from home, working with her sister, the role of faith in the creative process and what a debut album can preserve about a particular moment in a life.
Writing songs like memories
Good Hours: For The Record was written across several months and three countries. When you hear the finished album now, does each song still carry a strong sense of the place where it began?
Alyssa Gallarneau: Absolutely. The neat thing about writing these songs in different countries and at different stages of my life is that I can still remember the exact places I was when I wrote them. Alongside that, they remind me of the emotions I was experiencing in love and in life at the time, which makes listening back feel all the more intimate, almost like listening to a memory.
Good Hours: You often approach songs as if they were scenes in a film, using visual motifs and symbolism throughout your writing. What attracts you to telling stories that way, and how do you decide what to leave beneath the surface?
Alyssa Gallarneau: I think it’s really fun to create a space and a world around whatever emotion I’m feeling. When I write, it’s like I create a place where the girl I was at that stage of my life can exist freely, honestly, and uniquely, without consequence or fear. At the same time, it allows someone else to step into the shoes of that song and let their own imagination and interpretation of it take over.
As for deciding what to leave beneath the surface, I try to pull out some of the most honest and vulnerable parts of myself in my music — things that might feel embarrassing to say out loud, but that I’m willing to put into the world anyway. I think that’s what makes good music: going deeper than the surface level and saying things about love, sadness, or frustration that might feel awkward to express, but are still very real and human. To me, the tough emotions are what breathe life into the human experience.
Good Hours: Love, faith, longing, and self-discovery run through the album. Did you know those would become its central themes, or did you recognize that thread only once the songs started coming together?
Alyssa Gallarneau: I recognized that thread after creating the album. At 22, you’re still discovering so much about yourself and about the world around you. You experience love differently, friendships differently, and everything around you is constantly changing as you grow into the person you’re becoming. I think my writing naturally reflects that. At 22, you have your whole life ahead of you, and some of the most dramatic and important feelings can surround love, longing for the right person, faith, and figuring out who you are meant to become.
Finding a creative language in London
Good Hours: Mark Morrison introduced you to Ian Barter in 2025, and you went on to record the album in Ian’s garden studio in London. What clicked between you creatively, and how did that intimate setting shape the sound of the record?
Alyssa Gallarneau: We actually bonded over our shared faith very early on. Creatively, we speak the same language really well. If I hear something, he’s very good at receiving my ideas and turning them into something that is sonically stimulating to the ear. We truly became good friends throughout this project, and spent much of our time laughing, sharing stories, or even talking about Bible verses in the studio. I think that friendship and comfort with one another naturally found its way into the music.
Good Hours: Faith became something you and Ian connected over during the recording process. How did that shared understanding affect the way you communicated creatively?
Alyssa Gallarneau: It was really interesting to see the way Ian picked up on some of my lyrics. In “Love Business (Sha-Boom),” for example, I reference the “fruit of the Spirit,” and in “Proverbs 3:5,” I use the imagery of the harvest being ripe. The title itself comes from a real Bible verse: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit yourself to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Ian picked up on those references as well, and I think it deepened our creative appreciation for each other when encoding the songs with biblical references and meaning.
Good Hours: “Love Business (Sha-Boom)” reached millions of viewers through TikTok and received significant Apple Music editorial support. Did seeing that response change how you felt about releasing your first full album, or about the audience you were making it for?
Alyssa Gallarneau: One thousand percent. I had always dreamed of my music reaching large audiences, but there is really no way to get your brain to comprehend the size of one million people. Releasing my first album was initially a little nerve-wracking, especially because I was transitioning from a more acoustic EP into more pop-driven songs. It felt like both a genre jump and a lot of emotion being put out into the world. Seeing how receptive people were to “Love Business (Sha-Boom),” though, was astonishing and encouraging. It surprised me in every way.
Heartbreak at the departure gate
Good Hours: “I Don’t Want To Think About You” was written with your older sister Brittany. What changes when you’re writing about something emotionally complicated with someone who knows your history as closely as a sibling does?
Alyssa Gallarneau: It really helped me open up in a more playful way. My sister and I are already very close, so using a song as an outlet for emotions while building a unique scene around it brought the song to life in such a fun way. It makes expressing your disappointment feel a lot less sad and instead gives it a little more life and energy. It also helps you feel like you’re taking your power back after a heartbreak.
Good Hours: Aviation runs through your family life, and the song turns that connection into the image of someone arriving at the gate too late. Did that cinematic scene exist before the song, or did the aviation metaphor emerge naturally as you and Brittany were writing?
Alyssa Gallarneau: It emerged while we were writing. The first lyrics of the song already started with this sense of separation: “My landline rang, while you were calling my name, all the way from Spain.” We then built upon that with, “An outbound train, going far away, a place without your face,” before finally reaching the aviation metaphor in, “As I was boarding my plane, I still felt the same.” By the time we got to the second verse, we knew there was a clear opportunity to make this an aviation-themed song. That creative direction eventually led to my producer, Ian Barter, playing the gate agent and delivering the final boarding call at the very end of the song. This song was hands-down one of my favorites to create because of her.
The details beneath For The Record
Good Hours: Listeners who followed the singles are now discovering songs such as “Willow Tree,” “Ocean Air” and “All’s Fair in Love & War.” Which album track reveals a side of you that the singles haven’t shown yet?
Alyssa Gallarneau: I would say “Proverbs 3:5” is one of my most revealing tracks. It speaks in metaphors and motifs, from biblical Easter eggs to lyrics about hiding in tall grass. I think repeated listeners would be the first to discover the deeper meaning of the song and the almost-paranoid feeling the narrator is trying to escape. It’s a really neat record that I feel complements my album in a deeper way and reveals a side of my writing that is different from the other songs.
Good Hours: You’ve performed everywhere from Milwaukee Summerfest and House of Blues Chicago to New York Fashion Week and The Bluebird, often with a seven-piece band. What has performing live taught you about these songs that you couldn’t have discovered in the studio?
Alyssa Gallarneau: It has taught me that playing these songs live provides endless opportunities to stretch my creativity with them. Every song has the opportunity to sound a little different live, and maybe even for the better. Whether that means adding an extended guitar solo or a key change, it’s so much fun to play with the records in ways that can surprise the audience. Performing them live has shown me that a song doesn’t have to exist in just one form.
Good Hours: A debut album captures an artist at a very specific moment. Years from now, when you return to For The Record, what do you think it will remind you about the person and songwriter you were while making it?
Alyssa Gallarneau: Years from now, I think it will remind me of the hopeful and fanciful young woman I was in my early twenties. I’ve tried to capture the pureness of seeing the world, and the sweetness of being young, falling in love, and figuring things out for the first time. When I listen back, I hope my memories will always find their way back to being 22, full of light and hopeful expectation.
For The Record is out now via MackLife Records/So, Let’s Talk, distributed by Stem.
FAQ
Who is Alyssa Gallarneau?
Alyssa Gallarneau is a singer-songwriter who splits her time between Chicago, Illinois, and Bloomington, Indiana. Her music brings together pop, singer-songwriter and folk influences with an emphasis on visual storytelling.
What is For The Record?
For The Record is Alyssa Gallarneau’s debut album, exploring love, faith, longing and self-discovery through songs written across several months and three countries.
Who produced For The Record?
The album was recorded with UK producer Ian Barter in his garden studio in London.
Which song did Alyssa Gallarneau write with her sister?
Gallarneau wrote “I Don’t Want To Think About You” with her older sister, Brittany. The song draws on their family connection to aviation and builds its story around distance, departure and heartbreak.
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