I first came across Maryen more than 30 years ago when Progressive International sent me ‘The Pictures Within’ to review, but that was back in the days of letters and physical CDs, and I had no way of contacting the Australian singer/songwriter who was by then living in the UK. What I was not aware of was that one of her best friends in London was Tracy Hitchings, and years later when Tracy and I got in touch for her podcast it was natural that Maryen and myself would get in contact. When Tracy died way too young it impacted many people as she was so vital and full of life (with the most amazing laugh), but Maryen and I have kept in touch which is why I am now listening to this album. Once we had made contact Maryen kindly sent me the albums she had released over the years, having returned to her native Australia, but these days she can be found living in Guernsey (I thought I was brave moving to the other side of the world, let alone doing it once, then returning and then going again!).
At the end of Maryen’s 2023 UK tour, she went into Echotown Studios with her mentor, legendary Rolling Stones producer Chris Kimsey, and over the next 48 hours played 30 songs to a small audience whilst Chris captured the sound with an array of microphones. Often, Maryen would sit on a cajón and pivot between guitar and piano, recreating what took place on her one-woman show, now being made available to a much wider audience. I have always loved her vocals, and Fish was so impressed he had her sing with him on ‘Internal Exile’, while her songwriting is wonderful, often in an alt-folk style and when it is stripped back to basics like this it allows her voice to really shine with just some reverb and basic accompaniment.
“Kids from the ‘Burbs” opens the album and is based on a true story, and I wonder how many can resonate with the line “I left home, joined a band, caught a plane to a distant land, looking for another door”, leaving the world of the known behind and moving to another. One of the most special songs on this album is “Flew Away”, taken from her 2019 album ‘Come To Me’, where she tells the story of an old, old lady, who used to be a flying ace, but compare the gentle picking on that to the delicacy on the piano for “Lady Bushranger” – my only complaint is that I wish there were more songs like that one from ‘Femina Australis’ included, where she tells the story of some incredible Australian women, but maybe next time. I can’t go past “Voices From Scotland” which starts gently but could so easily turn into a belter and I can only imagine what this is like with a well-oiled audience in front of her.
Maryen is a wonderful singer/songwriter, and this environment has allowed herself to be front and centre with nothing to hide behind, showing just what a talent she is. That Chris Kimsey has been involved with Maryen for so long (right back to the debut album in 1991), shows just how highly he regards her as well, and rightly so. This is a delight from beginning to end.
Rating: 8/10
