Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Bonnie Kellett, RTC Records 2023.
Alt-country singer/songwriter Bonnie Kellett will be releasing her debut full-length album, Hidden Spirit, on June 16.
I have already reviewed the five singles from the album and each of them has been excellent.
All the songs have been written or co-written by Bonnie and they spring from personal experience.
Empowerment, strength, and growth through adversity is the underlying theme of the album and the title refers to the hidden strength that you don’t realise you have until you are confronted by challenging circumstances.
Bonnie grew up in a musical family and her mum and dad took her to all kinds of festivals around South Australia where she started playing in sessions as a young child.
She says “I have fond memories of every Wednesday night in Mick O’Shea’s Irish Pub joining in jam sessions with players from around Adelaide. I would sit and join in with my fiddle whenever I could.”
With the death of her father Bonnie rediscovered her love of folk and country music and so her journey to releasing her debut album began.
She became a musical nomad and has lived in Byron Bay and Sydney before eventually settling on the central Coast of NSW.
Hidden Spirit was recorded with APRA award winning producer Govinda Doyle who produced Angus and Julia Stone’s Big Jet Plane.
He is a skilled producer and knows how to get the best out of performers.
The eleven tracks on the album include two versions of Silhouettes in The Dark, a full band version and a pared back acoustic version.
Both versions are excellent and what stands out about the album is the quality of the song writing.
Bonnie is not just an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and singer but she can also pen a powerful song.
You don’t have to be into country music to enjoy this album.
