Musician Melissa McClelland talks politics, vivid dreams and life on the road

Melissa McClelland, one half of the duofronting rock band Whitehorse,says the title for their new album Panther in the Dollhouse came to her in the middle of the night.

"I was having a series of dreams, and I'm a big, vivid, strange dreamer," she said. "I was dreaming about wild animals in unusual places, and panther in the dollhouse was one of those dreams."

"I woke up with that on my lips."

The title resonated with her writing partner and husband Luc Doucette. The couplepopulate their songs with characters who bump up against power dynamics and sexual politics, McClelland said,and Panther in the Dollhouse seemed to embody their struggles.

"Panther in the Dollhouse is the awkward place where social conditioning and animal instinct meet," McClelland said.

As for partnering musically with her husband, McLelland said the key for both of them has been respect and autonomy. So far, she said, they've done a good job of making it work.

But when it doesn't work, there's always the music.

"Songwriting is the best therapy," McClelland said. "For me if something is pent up, or if I'm up against a difficult emotion, the best way to express that is through song."

"We don't write songs at each other, but things creep up in the lyrics, we work through them together."

The special things about outdoor festivals

McClelland and Doucette will have plenty of time to work things out, as their tour in support of the new album runs across the country this summer, including Sunday's stop at the Northern Lights Festival Boreal in Sudbury.

McClelland said that performing at outdoor festivals is one of the special things about touring.

"I love that it pulls us out of our routine," she said. "You end up in usually beautiful locations, places you've never been to."

"You're crossing paths with other musicians. Discovering new music. Sharing stages during workshops, collaborating with people. We look forward to it every year."

Visit Whitehorse's web site here, and the Northern Lights website here.