It’s been two years since Halifax’s Jenn Grant painted the somber portrait of a heartbroken woman on her 2009 record Echoes, and you best believe she’s all healed and ready to kick back some happier melodies. In the years between writing Echoes and recording her latest release Honeymoon Punch, Grant has found plenty to smile about—a new dog, a new home (“stamping some roots down in Nova Scotia,” as Grant says), and an engagement to her boyfriend and producer of Honeymoon Punch, Daniel Ledwell (In-Flight Safety).

“I feel like the repetition of playing the songs off Echoes over and over again kind of healed me,” said Grant. “Part of performing is letting go of my own attachment and letting other people have it, and I had so much time between writing and beginning to perform the album that by then I was super healed.”

When it came time to record a new album, Grant knew exactly what she wanted. Drawing from some of her favourite artists—Phoenix, Camera Obscura and Laura Veirs—Grant made the conscious decision to opt for a more light-hearted affair.

“I’ve made some changes in my life and the music just followed the changes,” said Grant. “I just felt ready to make something more lively and kind of vivacious-sounding.”

And Honeymoon Punch does just that, filled to the brim with jubilant bursts of cheerful dance-pop and a heavier rock vibe that Grant wanted after obsessing over Phoenix’s 2009 record Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. “I really wanted that dance sound with a bass and drums, and Danny [Ledwell] was a good person to produce it,” shared Grant. “He guided me towards what that would be like, we discussed it a lot beforehand. I needed to do something fun so I’m glad I went for the fun vibe this time around.”

Fun and ease translates throughout the record, from the Tegan and Sara synths on “How I Met You” to the sped-up giddiness of “Getcha Good,” and even on the record’s bright cover (where Grant poses, wrapped in her brother’s quilt) and the album title itself.

Honeymoon Punch, Grant explains, was a spontaneous idea that came out of nowhere and relates to the easy-going nature of the whole record. “It was so hard to name Echoes,” Grant said. “I really wanted to call it Get Out Of My Car, and some people advised me not to.”

“Everything about Echoes was a struggle. With this album, I didn’t even think about it. Working with Danny, having the band, the location we recorded at—on this beautiful lake in the woods, the team of people at Six Shooters Records… everything has just been such a positive working experience and I’ve never had that before.”

The only downside the singer faced was an unfortunate accident over the holidays where Grant severely injured her wrist.

“It’s weird because everything around the record was so positive,” said Grant. “And then that happened. I was freaking out at the hospital, they were telling me that I wouldn’t be able to play guitar again… but they were wrong and it’s going really well. I’m ready to put it back to work now.”

Read more on Jenn Grant on the X3 Artist of the Month microsite.