Feature by Sarah Spohn
Australian singer-songwriter Vera Blue dropped her debut album “Perennial,” today via Capitol Records/Deep Well Records.
The twenty-three-year old’s high ranged soprano vocals, airy whispers evoke a dreamy, poppy high ranged vocals throughout her radio-ready record.
“Regular Touch” is a faster, upbeat song that kicks the album up a notch. Expect to sing it loud and proud in the bars with your gal pal squad.
“Mended” is a vulnerable product of a past relationship that has never quite resolved itself. You know the one. Feelings were there, they still are, and they might always be. Vera Blue spoke about the album’s symbolic namesake.
“Perennial is a term for plants that come back year after year, and I like to relate that to memory, feelings and emotions,” she said. “It’s what the record is all about; relationships can be very cyclical, or never-ending, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just part of life.”
Co-produced by Andy Mak and Adam Anders (Deep Well Records), mix engineered by Manny Marroquin (Rihanna, Sia, Kanye West), “Mended” is already a tour and festival favorite.
The album plays out like a personal diary – sometimes the highest of highs, and other times, its lowly lows. “Said Goodbye To” echoes the painful aftermath.
And I know it’s for the best, that doesn’t mean my heart’s not ripped out of my chest. That doesn’t mean that I have cleaned up all the rest, sometimes you lose a lot more than love.
Contrasting beats, tempos and subject matters shifts the album’s feel from song to song. “Lady Powers” puts a stop to the need to have approval, and encouraging listeners to not sell themselves short.
I won’t be defined by your eyes. You can’t refuse, I shouldn’t have to use lady powers. I know how you think I’m going crazy. But I’m not gonna settle for anything short of amazing.
If poppy, upbeat girl power anthems in spite of recent heartbreak are your go-to jams, then “Perennial” by Vera Blue is red-hot.
Filed under: feature friday Tagged: album review, australia, capitol records, perennial, vera blue
