Album Review: Blue Mind

As the modern musical generation dive headfirst into digital production, home studios and the art of the solo performance, it’s hard to remember the days of the traditional, all-out band jam session. But Tess Liautaud’s beautiful sophomore record Blue Mind proves that lifestyle is alive and well in Otautahi. Pulling together a star-studded band with Elmore Jones, Adam Hattaway, Michael Kime, Frankie Daly, Jessie Shanks and Holdyn Skinner, recording with Josh Logan at Loho Studio, Blue Mind is a country folk album that utterly glows in the light of its stunning organic sound.

The title track kicks off the record with warm, rich instrumentation and a hook that tells the listener to take a break and enjoy the tranquil natural world around them. This is the perfect setting for listening and creating one’s own Blue Mind, and the brief but thrilling guitar solo at the end is freeing, a peek into more magical moments to come.

Here Go The Lovers offers up gorgeous visual imagery on the second track. From burnt out cigarettes to never-ending train rides, Liautaud lyrically connects larger-than-life romances to the most mundane moments of our reality. This is an expansive tune in its ever-building dynamics, starting as a small singer-songwriter moment that blows up into a heartfelt full band extravaganza. The piano is a particular standout, adding bittersweet melodies that provide energy and emotion all at once.

Single The Way It’s Meant To Rain, co-written with Christchurch rocker Adam Hattaway, highlights the talents of Liautaud’s band beautifully. The instrumentals have plenty of space to breathe under the catchy hook, and they grow into a wild loop with a jazzy feel of improvisation, in bursting brass sections and dizzying keys. This song’s absolute wall of sound is tremendous and full of joy, the absolute picture of how special Aotearoa’s music scene can be when we connect and share our music with one another.

The album also provides slower, bluesier numbers to its benefit. Black Machine shows off Liautaud’s smoky low range, whilst the Joni Mitchell-esque sound of an acoustic guitar tuned off course on Ember creates a moody tone as it’s strummed full and deep to the plain, carefully rhymed lyrics. They juxtapose the more upbeat tracks well. Gold Digger is a tongue-in-cheek tune that thrives in its cynical, rhythmic wit. I Wanna Know is especially hooky, with a bright, summery chorus all about human connection. Its nostalgic instrumentals tug at the heartstrings as Liautaud belts out that chorus and once again shows off an impressively emotive vocal range.

John Prine is the album’s most delicate moment, and its final, laying out a simple story of a person haunting one’s late nights. Named after the American singer-songwriter, this track is all about direct, raw lyricism. The listener falls deep into Liautaud’s narrative through her eerie and expressive melodies. Unlike the rest of the record, this performance is Liautaud’s alone, a fitting end to an album that is shared with many but ultimately is a story that belongs to her.

Country music thrives in the New Zealand South, and Tess Liautaud is another artist whose work in the genre cannot be missed. Blue Mind is the sort of collection that only comes about when uniting the best minds in music. Thanks to its strong songwriting, lavish sonic direction and the charisma of its lead artist, it’s a record that highlights the very best folk music can bring.