Bittersweet
The music of Kasey Chambers nowadays feels almost as intrinsic to this country as Vegemite and Australia will be happy to know that the singer, songwriter and storyteller will release her tenth studio album and first solo record in four years, ‘Bittersweet’. Produced by American Nick DiDia (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, The Wallflowers, Powderfinger, The Living End) at Studios 301 in Byron Bay, ‘Bittersweet’ is something of a departure for Kasey from the “expected”.
Signifying a new phase in her exciting and expansive career, ‘Bittersweet’ sees Kasey enter the studio without her producer/ manager/ brother and good luck charm Nash Chambers for the first time. Pulling together a superb studio band to record the album, ‘Bittersweet’ features Bernard Fanning on acoustic guitar, keyboard, piano, background vocals and lead vocals on the title track; Ashleigh Dallas on banjo, fiddle, mandolin and background vocals; Dan Kelly on electric and acoustic guitar and background vocals; Matthew Engelbrecht on bass and flugal horn and Declan Kelly on drums, percussion and vibes, Bill Chambers contributes background vocals. Sticking to her trademark no-nonsense live recording style, Kasey and the band recorded the album in just 7 days in April this year.
While title track “Bittersweet” harks back to the ballsy, alternative country rock that flavoured seven times platinum selling ‘Barricades & Brickwalls’, it also delivers some brand new soundscapes for the exquisite song-writing and irresistible voice of one of Australia’s most gifted and enduring talents. ‘Bittersweet’ is again testament to the songwriting talents of an artist who has won 10 APRA Awards (she holds the record for the highest awarded solo APRA Songwriter in Australia across 10 studio albums), 10 ARIA Awards, 20 Golden Guitar Awards and nominations for 2 Americana Music Awards
