LEAH FLANNIGAN – NIRVANA NIGHTS

Leah Flannigan comes to us in an era where the MOR singer-songwriter often goes by unnoticed like so much water under a bridge. What allows this young Indigenous/Italian/Irish girl to stand out is the remarkable calibre of her musical performance;  Flannigan possesses an alarmingly commanding voice, resonating with the force of the great soul singers. On this debut record the warm, tactile band arrangements work very nicely around her guitar, ukulele and piano work, never distracting from the importance of the material at the core of Leah Flannigan’s oeuvre. That material consists of some highly emotive soul waltzes and ballads, her distinctly Australian brand of dust-bowl blues – Each Day of the Week – and a smattering of even-tempered Hawaiian folk-blues.  September Song stirs up a wisp of the kind of gentle pop kitsch that made Frente such a beautiful thing. Flannigan can even write a ballad to rival the Australian masters Alex Hood or Eric Bogle – Alyawarre Girl is very touching in its simplicity, the crown jewel of an impressively assured debut.

***1/2