Carry
Nation is Brisbane singer-songwriter Jessie Warren and (often) an
assorted crew of contributing musicians. Having established a
presence on the city’s bustling folk music scene over the last four
years, her maiden
album
Like
A River Does
is
an assured collection of well-honed songs. As with many fellow
acoustic-strumming sirens, the
Joni Mitchell influence runs strong through the record and it’s easy
to see the parallels (eg first track
All
I Need/Blue
‘s
iconic opener
All
I Want
,
however Warren’s lungs produce a different sound – a soulful,
semi-hushed tone that’s unmistakably Australian in both feel and
accent.
Local indie-folk man-about-town Nick Smethurst lays down
delicate acoustic (
Moving
Out
‘s
opening arpeggio line being particularly lovely) and electric guitar
flourishes while cellists Janice Wong and Kirstie Galloway add a
warm, organic buzz to the unhurried songs. The advices in the
aptly-titled
Respect
Your Elders
and
Braking Is For Heroes
certainly don’t deserve to get lost on today’s kids while
Phil
Spector
is a moody, yet bizarrely catchy tribute to the legendary
producer-gone-convicted-
Of further note are wispy,
wind-in-the-hair
Songbirds,
its
accompanying atmospheric two-minute mood piece
Instrumental
(which still does sound like it contains distant, echoey vocals) and
the closing
Aimy,
where Warren stretches out the wistful “
bli-ah-ind
”-s
in prime Sinead O’Connor fashion.
The
album’s even flow means it’s hard to pick a definite standout moment,
but the lilting/emotion-filled
Breaking
Glass
comes close.
In all,
Like
A River Does
is a fine Australian folk debut as well as a record with clear grower
potential.
Review Score: 7/10
(El Nino El Nino/Inertia)
