“If I don’t do this I need a therapist” – on Nightwriter’s opening title track, Charlie Collins acknowledges that songwriting is essential to her mental wellness.
The deceptively jaunty, upbeat Rock Bottom – which opens with an ambulance siren – finds Collins detoxing in a psych ward after surviving a drug overdose: “I was insane/ Mental headcase/ So they locked me up until I sobered up.”
Some of the demos for this heart-achingly raw record were sung into an answering machine while Collins was in rehab. “I’m so sure anxiety is present now that I am clean/ I’m facing the things I used to dread” – the softly strummed, reassuring I’m Alright concludes with one such voice recording.
Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
Backed by banjo, acoustic guitar, drums, piano and bass (the latter two instruments played by none other than Neil Finn), The Last 48 Hours sees Collins moving towards self-compassion after many years spent numbing her trauma through self-medication (“Learning how to love myself and stay sober”).
Self-described “heartbreak banger” The Hardest Part navigates post-breakup bitterness: “Your friends say you’re fine/ I hope that’s a lie/ Just want you to feel the same way I do…”
Following the closing I’m In The Right Place, we hear someone (probably a journalist) asking Collins, “Do you have any long-term ambitions with your music?” She hesitates, “Um, no, I just wanna keep doing what I’m doing and if something happens, well, that’s really good.”
A harrowing listen, cushioned by Collins’ textured vocal delivery and emotionally resonant melodies, Nightwriter is a career-defining record. Here’s hoping the only highs Collins chases from now on are creative ones.
LABEL: ISLAND RECORDS
RELEASE: OUT NOW
