Writing songs for baby turns out new album

SINGER-SONGWRITERS often grow up in the public eye with every new release. Aussie pop princess Lenka, whose full name is Lenka Kripac and who will be performing here at the end of the month, does the same on her latest album Shadows.

Written while she was pregnant with her son - who's now 20 months old and could be heard trying to get his mummy's attention in the background while she was on the phone from Sydney earlier this week - it marks a departure from the head-bopping pop songs of her first two albums.

"I was supposed to take a break and have a baby, not make an album, but I was still writing songs because it's quite a nice thing to be writing songs for your baby," chuckles the 35-year-old.