Lenka has never had a problem making you smile. No matter how dark her lyrics get, the singer, songwriter and actress from South Wales, Australia, makes melodies that put a little pep in your step and lyrics that will instantly make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. And she continues that signature with her fourth album, The Bright Side.

Lenka spent the summer bringing the new tunes to the US. While on the road, we chatted with her about The Bright Side, her songwriting process and simultaneously playing musician and mom.

Your last album, Shadows, released in 2013. What have you been up to since that record?

I have been great. I just wanted to go back to being a mom, focusing on my little kid and just enjoying that. So that was really nice for about a year. But through that time, I was doing a little bit of writing as well, mostly for film and TV. So I had a collection of songs [from that writing gig] that I'm allowed to use and put on an album. Then I thought, "I have half an album." So I figured I write a few more songs, and it felt like it was really coming together. It was an upbeat, optimistic album. And when [my son] would hear them, he would get up and start to dance then say, "I love that, Ma!" So I thought I'll get to do this upbeat album again because I haven't done that in a while. And I think I had some renewed energy for it, too, after having a real, proper break without touring and everything going on. So it just sort of happened naturally.

Do you approach writing for film and TV differently?

Yeah, definitely. Sometimes there's a set cast of characters and needs something specific when you talk to the director. And other times, it's really vague. Like "Unique," they wanted something about being unique. So I could write about whatever I wanted as long as it was within that idea. But what I suppose the main difference is, as a songwriter, you have all these intense emotions that you're hashing out, and that becomes a song. But if you're writing to a bridge, you sit down and do it when they want you to do it. So there is a set starting point. So it's not for everyone. I don't think all songwriters would really enjoy that, but I really enjoy it. Being an actor, I've worked on getting into someone else's head and work within the boundaries of something. I like having a jumping off point. Half the album is that, and half the album is songs that I just wrote. So there's a balance.

What was the one song that stuck out for you during the songwriting process?

It would be "The Bright Side," which is the title track and closes out the album. For me, I knew I had the whole album ready and knew I wanted to call it The Bright Side. So I thought I should write a song called that, too. So that's the way I sat down and started writing that song. It's a love song, and it has a some unusual grooves. In the end, the whole track just falls apart, and it's just me walking down the street. You can hear my feet and hear me opening the door. It's really, really raw at the end. It's experimental and less polished than the other tracks, which have more of the sophisticated production on the album. And I like that I gave myself a brief. "Here's a song. Now do it!"

How do you go about balancing your music career and being a mom?

It's a little hard to balance just like any working mother. You really have to organize your time. You have to put on your mommy hat then your hat. But the two blend for me. Music just involves so much travel that it can be a nightmare sometimes. My kid gets into a routine then I have to go and smash that apart. He'll say, "Mommy's getting on a plane." But he'll be coming, too, and then I'll have to uproot him from preschool and taking him to America for four months. But it's okay. I work out what goes on in his life, but  sometimes I wish I had a 9-5 job. [Laughs]

Do you see the music sense rubbing off on your son?

Yeah, I think so. I'm not going to force it at all, but he does sit at the piano. And he just plays the keys softly enough so he can hear the sound. He's all up and down the keyboard and see his different moods according to the notes. So I find it gorgeous to watch, and I'm not going to teach him what notes to play. I'll just feel it out and see what happens.