In recent years, Liz Stringer has shone as one of Midnight Oil’s backing vocalists of choice.
She’s right up there with Eva Cassidy as far as we’re concerned, boasting pipes that are best appreciated with minimal adornment. Check out those Annie Lennox-level vocalisations that close out I’ll Never Abandon Myself Again!
“I’d rather be on my own and afraid than alone with someone like you” – ouch. The Second High’s focus track, this strutting empowerment anthem gradually gathers strength and momentum until a cheer squad of rallying BVs fortify resolve, repeating, “No fear, I’ll never abandon myself again,” to close.
Check out our gig guide, our arts guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
Throughout this record (and especially Anger, a stirring piano ballad), Stringer’s transcendent singing and astute observations are cradled by glorious, velvety background harmonies.
Coming Home, the opening lead single, features a stately piano intro that sounds like something Bruce Springsteen would go for. “‘Cause I don’t need nothing/ But I’d love someone like you/ To come and complete me…” – hopeful melodies swirl and intensify during this standout track, which yearns for “the feeling of coming home” that true love brings – just like we’ve been promised since we were kids.
“Don’t pretend you got what you got because you worked any harder” – the unflinching Criminal totally takes it there, over swinging percussion and insistent piano chords.
On The Level’s opening lines – “You used to look over my shoulder while we talked/ But I was good with it…” – are so dispirited it hurts.
Where to begin with the classy, understated To Survive? This one was inspired by a friend Stringer met while fundraising at a housing crisis centre in Melbourne. “Cast out for who I am/ All my feathers and flesh…” – kicked outta home due to how he identifies, Stringer’s friend was forced to live out his young life on the streets but now works to empower youth who find themselves in similar positions.
There’s a dialled-in depth to Stringer’s vocal performances that can’t be taught. Her portrayals encapsulate the full spectrum of feels – from complete despair to the utmost joy, sometimes both extremes in a single song.
At times you could hear Stringer’s vocal power through a hurricane, but she also knows exactly how much singing quietly can mess with our hearts.
(“I’m too much…”) I’ve Always Known It redefines desolate melancholy. Dripping with insecurity, worthlessness and fear (“inside I’m a trembling joey”), our protagonist often shrinks to make space for others. “Watch me leave while I am silent…” – it’s devastating, but ultimately relatable.
She’ll be nine years sober by the end of the year, and this record’s buoyant title track – with its playful piano trills, reassuring strings and striking percussive flourishes – serves as a constant reminder that life’s better on the other side of addiction. As an artist, Stringer just keeps going from strength to strength.
RELEASE: DOT DASH RECORDINGS
LABEL: OUT NOW
