Your last full album The Veronicas was released in 2014, can fans expect a new record sometime soon?
Yeah! We’ve been writing for the last three or four months and we’re working on releasing a record this year. I think we’re looking at a mid-year release, at least for a new single.

Can you give us any hints as to what it might sound like?
It’s a really different record. The way we approached the writing, recording and the sonic sound is way more, I call it electronic, atmospheric pop but it’s still very emotive. I feel like I say this about every record but every record that we make just feels closer to who we are as artists. We’ve really experimented with more soundscape stuff and darker themes.

Exciting! You’re coming to the Gold Coast soon to play a show at Jupiters Hotel & Casino. Can lucky ticket holders expect to hear some of these new tracks?
Yes! We’re actually planning to debut a few of our new songs at that show. It will be an Australian first so we’re pretty excited about it. Nervous but excited!

You grew up in Brisbane but now split time between Australia and LA, what are you most looking forward to doing while you’re in town?
Seeing our family and best friends, I miss them so much when we’re away. When we’re home we like to go to Maleny and Montville, which is north of Brisbane, but also down to the Gold Coast to spend time on the beach and amongst nature. Australia is so different from LA in terms of the hinterland, we’ve just spent two days in Arizona, which is incredible to see but it’s just so different. We also love visiting our favourite little restaurants and doing really normal things.

Your song ‘You Ruin Me’ hit three times platinum in Australia, that must have felt pretty amazing?
It’s so crazy, especially with a song like that where you write it just to get something out, the last thing you’re thinking about is how it’s going to be received necessarily. When it is embraced or felt by so many people in a similar way, it’s a really cool feeling. We’re not really known for releasing ballads or for being vulnerable because a lot of our songs project this strong and independent image, so this is the complete flip side.

It delves into some fairly deep emotional territory, do you find songwriting almost therapeutic?
Absolutely. Even the happy pop songs we write, there’s something that has fuelled it. Some of the most upbeat tracks we’ve written have come from the darkest places. Songwriting is how we’ve always expressed ourselves, even as young girls. We started writing at 16 and we would just write about how we were feeling in that moment. As storytellers we’ve been able to take that base and create more and try new things but it all stems from that same emotive state.

You guys did a song for Sesame Street. How did that come about?
Cookie Monster rang us up one day and said he’s coming to Australia and asked if we want to hang out and eat cookies. Of course we said yes. He asked if we’d sing a song called ‘S is for Sibling’ and we were like yes, absolutely! We grew up with Sesame Street so it was definitely a tick off the bucket list.

What was it like hanging with the Cookie Monster?
It’s so funny, we’ve hung out with a lot of musicians, actors and celebrities and Cookie Monster is by far the one that people go the most hysterical for. It’s completely crazy to see!

Let’s take it back a bit, can you tell us about the time you first heard one of your songs on the radio?
We were in the car with our mum and dad on our way back from the airport. We had just landed in town to do some promo and ‘4ever’ had just been released and all of a sudden it played. It was very surreal! We stopped at a shopping centre at some point in the next few days and we were on the front of Dolly and Smash Hits magazines and it was super weird. Nothing can prepare you for that feeling, it’s wild.

Have you gotten used to it or does it still feel a bit surreal?
It’s definitely still weird, I don’t know if you ever get used to it but it’s really cool. Especially when it’s about your art and your journey and it’s not tabloid related! We released our first record ten years ago now and you go through cycles and waves and everything is a different experience. It’s a pretty crazy industry.

If you could make music with anyone living or otherwise, who would it be and why?
Hands down it would be Michael Jackson. He is mine and Lisa’s absolute mecca of artist! He’s written some of our absolute favourite songs like ‘Earth Song’. I was actually listening to his History record on the plane recently and I sat in my chair and cried. His writing, performance and heart, just him as an artist moved me in a way that a lot of artists just can’t anymore. He is number one.