JESSICA, Camilla and Emily StavelyTaylor grew up playing music together in their birth-town Watford, having been taught guitar by their father. Their second record If I Was, released in 2015, was produced popular folk artist Bon Iver. They have also supported pop singer Florence and the Machine on tour.

Ahead of a gig in Hove, EDWIN GILSON spoke to youngest sister Camilla about moving to Minneapolis, writing about relationships and the burn-out of touring.

What was the motivation behind relocating to America?

We felt we needed a shake-up. We’d got to a point in the UK where we’d toured quite a lot and it didn’t feel like we could do it any more without having another album out. We decided to live over here for a while and focus our attention on the States, to get new inspiration.

We’ve been here about a year now. It’s obviously a strange time to be here with Trump ruling the roost and also because it’s our first experience of being foreigners in a place. I didn’t anticipate how much like a fish out of water I would feel, certainly at first. I think our minds are drifting towards home now.

Have you written about feeling alien?

We write about the weird life we’ve chosen, being semi-nomadic and what exactly home is. These are questions we’re always asking and haven’t found the answer to. But we haven’t written properly for a while.

One song you recently released, Tired as ****, is about a relationship breakdown. Is it based on your personal experience or a combination of all of the band’s stories?

I wrote it and it’s very much a personal one. It’s based around a relationship falling apart and the emotions that evokes. But then when you take a song out to the world it starts to take on a new meaning to you. There are definitely times when you feel sick and tired about a lot of things in the world. It takes on a slightly more general feeling.

On that note, can it be difficult to find a balance between autobiographical writing and appealing to a wider audience?

I wouldn’t feel too comfortable writing a song that has a big overarching message that tries to appeal to lots of people. You have to write what feels natural and that’s usually personal experience, be it heartbreak or happiness. Sometimes you do feel a little self-indulgent, like “I’m just writing about me and my feelings and my journey”. But really that’s all you can do if you’re having a strong feeling.

You said another recent song, Train Tracks, was about feeling “clueless”. Is that feeling specific to this time in your life?

It was about a specific time and relationship, or beginning of a relationship. It was a stream of consciousness about where I was at that time in life. It was one song that really highlighted to me how helpful writing could be as therapy and a form of healing.

Can it be frustrating to try to translate thoughts into writing or is the process pretty smooth by now?

No! I wish it was. Some people are very prolific and efficient in writing a lot and are able to translate all the stuff they’re feeling, but it’s a constant struggle to get on that wave. I have to be in a specific mood in a specific place, or alone. I need to lock myself away. That challenge and struggle is all worth it. For all of us it all feels like everything is bubbling up now and we want to try and write – whether it’s here or back in England.

Was there a period of re-evaluation after your second album If I Was? Can it be difficult to focus on new work after exerting so much physical and mental energy in making and promoting the last one?

It’s not helpful to think, “where do we go now?”, it’s better to follow the writing. I feel like all of us want to experiment, whether its new song structures or using our voices as instruments in our own right.

Quite a few musicians seem to have spoken about the burn-out of long tours recently and the pressures on musicians. Is this something you’ve experienced?

Yeah, definitely. It’s a full-on thing, going on tour, and the time you do get off you hardly want to spend writing music. You’d rather just slob out and watch episodes of Girls on your computer. While touring is a manifestation of everything we do, it definitely gets in the way of properly writing and recording.

What are your memories of Brighton?

We love playing Brighton – it’s a really lovely, chilled-out place. That said, it always ends up being a pretty messy night for us when we’re down there. That’s the way it seems to go.

The Staves The Old Market, Hove, Friday June 9, 7.30pm, call 01273 201801 or visit theoldmarket.com