HP #46: Ava Joe on Songwriting and Nostalgia.

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Ava Joe to break down the making of “Am I a Dreamer”, a song inspired by one of the most complicated emotions she experiences: nostalgia.   Unlike most of her songwriting, which begins with a specific experience and the feelings th…

HP #45: Metric on the Song That Defined the Album

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Metric to break down the making of “Victim of Luck”, the opening track from their latest album and the song that took longer to finish than any other. The challenge wasn’t writing it. The challenge was knowing when it was right. Em…

#HP 44: Will White of The Maccabees on Writing Through Discomfort

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Will White to break down the making of “6:30 AM”, a song that became the catalyst for everything that followed. Unlike most of his work, the song stayed with him for years. That alone was unusual. Will describes a songwriting proce…

#HP 43: Witch Fever on Christianity, misogyny, religious trauma, and making of “The Garden”

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Witch Fever break down the songwriting process and music production process behind “The Garden,” a song shaped by religious trauma, feminist rebellion, and the emotional tension of leaving the church behind. We talk about how the band nearly abandoned the song a…

HP #42: Lily Moore Breaks Down Grown Up Girl Regrets.

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Lily Moore to break down the making of “Grown Up Girl Regrets” and why it became one of the most important songs she has ever written. Written during her first studio session after lockdown, the song emerged from a period of uncerta…

HP #41: Young the Giant on Returning to the Spirit of Their Early Days

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Young the Giant break down the songwriting process and music production process behind “Different Kind of Love,” exploring how the band tried to return to the spirit of their first record. After years of touring, remote writing, adult responsibilities, and frag…

HP #40: Westerman on isolation, injury, and writing “Mosquito.”

What happens when you can’t move, can’t escape, and a song is the only thing you can build. In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Westerman to break down the making of “Mosquito” from his 2025 album A Jackal’s Wedding.  The song was written during a period of physical…

HP #39: Winter on the importance of finding the right tempo and key.

Sometimes the hardest part is not writing the song, it is making it feel right. In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Winter to break down the making of “Misery” and how the song transformed completely in the studio.  What started as a faster demo in a different key w…

HP #38: The Overjoyed on Writing About Mental Health, Isolation, and Bittersweet Songs.

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Athens-based band The Overjoyed to go behind the scenes of their track “Party Eyes,” exploring the songwriting process, music production, and the emotional realities that shaped it.  The song begins with a deeply personal place: sl…

HP #37: Tigercub on Balancing Instinct and Editing in Songwriting

In this episode of The Hardest Part podcast, Tigercub break down the songwriting and creative process behind their track, "Fall In Fall Out". The track sits at the centre of their new album’s core tension, exploring contradiction, cycles, and the difficulty of articulating feelings that don’t full…