Deixa-me rir...

Caros Audiophiles, last week I discovered by accident a wonderful new singer-songwriter from Australia called Melody Pool. She was in concert supporting the Milk Carton Kids (the American acoustic duo I posted in January this year), and in fact I only heard her final three songs. But I was intrigued, and bought her CD, which she kindly signed.

Since then, I have been listening to her CD constantly and am captivated by her voice, her melodies, and the intelligence of her lyrics which seem far too mature for her 21 years.

She was invited to record her debut album The Hurting Scene this year in Nashville, and unsurprisingly it is imbued with a country-folk sound but, to my ears, the timbre of her voice and the phrasing of her singing and the rhythms of her acoustic guitar playing reminds me of Aimee Mann and the Bangles singer Susannah Hoffs, and most of all of English new-folk singer Laura Marling. 

The Hurting Scene is a contemplative album documenting the pain of betrayal and heartbreak, and the strength to move on, sometimes with calm fatalistic reflection and sometimes with melancholic honesty. Simple, direct and sincere. 

There are not yet many good quality videos of Melody Pool performing (sadly I could not find her remarkable song Royal Queen, so I suggest you try to hear her songs on Spotify or i-Tunes), but here are three of her songs, beginning with "Henry", the song which won her a major New Songwriter award and 
brought her national attention in Australia: 

"Henry, do you feel awake in the morning? Henry, do you tend to break come the light? For I feel the same, though I'm not to blame to have lost my heart's desire. Henry, you'll be lonely for a while.

Trust me, I would not take you back in a heatbeat; And mostly I lie awake at night with my rage, You loved me so though you strayed, yes I know, 

and frankly I'm straying now. Henry, you'll need to move along somehow.

I was born in the midst of a waning moon. And as a child I wandered through the dark and the gloom; and it spilled into my womanhood and now I’m sad for most of the time. But there’s beauty in a woman who is bound to herself, and there’s no beauty in a woman who won’t respect herself. 

But they are your choices, babe, and the choice to live without you is mine.

Truth be told, I've kicked and screamed so loud, I brought the whole house down, and I completely blame you for that, H, it's courage courage courage that you lack.

Henry, you had everybody on your side, and strangely you threw it all away for just one night. I thought you had sense but your last pretence was to shatter my forgiveness for good. Henry, you did what I thought you never would..." 

A proxima

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