Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Mia Dyson Liz Stringer Jen Cloher, Milk Records 2019.
This week I’m celebrating the work of women in rock by starting with a wonderful collaboration by three outstanding musicians.
Mia Dyson is a fantastic blues/rock guitarist and singer/songwriter who has cemented her reputation both here in Australia and overseas through many years of touring and performing.
Jen Cloher is a well-known singer/songwriter, partner of Courtney Barnett, and co-founder of Milk records.
She’s an institution in the indie music scene in Melbourne and her reputation has spread around the world. I love the edginess of her music.
Liz Stringer is a talented singer/songwriter who has been around the Melbourne music scene since 2006.
She’s released six studio albums, a live album, an EP with Jen Cloher and Mia Dyson and now this full album with the same ladies.
These three women wrote all the tracks and play all the instruments on the album except for the drums and percussion which was played by Glenn Kotche.
The album was recorded pre-pandemic in eight days at The Loft Studio in Chicago by Tom Schick and mastered in New York by Paul Gold.
And gold the album is.
It’s intelligent indie rock at its best ranging from the grittiness of the opener Falling Clouds and second track Believer through to the gentle and introspective Can’t Take It back and folky Running For The Feeling, this album has it all.
There’s a little bit of country honky tonk in Too Seriously with great harmonies that are evident throughout the album and highlighted in the a-ca-pella final track Can I Borrow Your Eyes.
I just love this album. It’s an absolute gem performed by three outstanding songwriters who tackle issues from a powerful female perspective.
It’s both nostalgic (particularly in the great track Young Girls) and progressive at the same time.
This album could only be written by writers who have experienced the full range of emotions and experiences that life holds.
The songs have the ring of truth about them. They are honest, direct, and cliché free zones.
Dyson Stringer Cloher is an album that grows with every listen.
