Warm, tender, thoughtfully profound, intelligent, finely crafted indie-folk with Laurel Canyon-era and Americana elements by the now Manchester-based New Zealand singer-songwriter on themes of change, motherhood, home, and heartbreak. Her fourth album’s pacing and sound feels perfect, is musically calming and soothing, even though it was all recorded when she was in the throes of morning sickness. The lyrics are extremely personal and and strikingly moving, from opener Emmanuelle to Cry On Cue, with that cutting opening lines: “There was a chord of suspension/ You wanted resolution / Learning to cry on cue. Another beautiful number, with the fleck of horns, is Baby Bright. This is an album that slips smoothly into place by an artist, now 33, who has reached songwriting full maturity. Hold It Up opens with elements of trip hop, but has a fabulously strong, vocal gliding chorus. Chained Unchanged jumps out as more of an 80s pop number, with those big drums and more voluminous sound, but mostly this sits best as a set of songs with an easier, folk, slower pace, stripped down to acoustic simplicity, such as Second Nature, Even Now, or Woman Apart. Bask in its light –beautiful, timeless, tender songs with a golden voice. Out on Chrysalis.
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