Brilliantly passionate and powerful, this fifth LP by the Melbourne indie singer-songwriter celebrates their matrilineal line of wāhine Māori heritage in songs of heartbreak, defiance and joy. With lyrics that incorporate te reo Māori language, the title comes from a whakatauki, or proverb: Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko
(I am the river, the river is me), picking up from what Cloher refers to as 700 years of whakapapa (ancestral) genealogy that ties me to that body of water and that land specifically. Referring to Kulin Aboriginal Nations, oppression, identity and culture. Cloher, who is a Māori of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahu descent, refers to her work as “earnest and basic and raw … Reclaiming your culture is an awkward and messy business. When you’re not living on your own lands, you have to seek it out and find the people who can support you.” But her songcraft and delivery still has sublime skill. Whether referring to historical or personal heartbreak, there’s a simmering melancholy in the first three numbers Mana Takatāpui (a translation of ‘queer’), Harekeke and the bassier, itchy, sexy My Witch, but the album really takes off on the superb Being Human (also a former Song of of Day here), a song which makes you want to punch the air with sheer exuberance and joy alongside the haka chants and th the build and strength of its chorus. The title track is just as powerful, followed by the punchy defiance and self-questioning of Protest Song, and Cloher’s wonderful deep then high soaring voice that comes in the middle eight of The Wild. Overall, a fabulous release of emotion and cultural belonging, in wonderfully crafted songs. Out on Milk! Records / Marathon Artists.
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