Tina Arena gives herself permission to express raw emotion on Love Saves, which bleeds authenticity.
This album’s early songwriting sessions took place around a piano in Stockholm – using zero technology, just a notepad and writing utensil. Four songs – one a day – spilled forth. Church, which brings Bond theme-level drama (Tina’s closing money note!), materialised first: “I forgive you for everything/ For all the nights I couldn’t sleep…” – this record’s opening lead single also documents Tina’s path to self-forgiveness.
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“But I won’t fake it/ I can’t be anything/ That I’m not…” – Cry Me A Miracle’s lyrics encapsulate how Tina has approached her entire career, which spans almost five decades (she first appeared on Young Talent Time in 1976, aged just eight). She boasts one of the greatest Australian voices of all time and Love Saves rightfully places Tina’s impeccable pipes front and centre. BVs, supplied by Bachelor Girl’s Tania Doko, and piano also play integral supporting roles throughout.
Can’t Say Anything unleashes, fierce as all get-out, before Tina’s closing, “Heh!” channels Beyoncé. “Fuck you, I’m a Joan Of Arc without a cause…” – Devil In Me, this album’s super-satisfying fuck-you moment, is unapologetic but never devoid of irony. This song’s final, emphatic bass note on piano lands like a triumphant full stop.
She’s described this record as “a window into [her] soul” and, with her first album of original material in eight years, it’s thrilling to witness Tina strutting into full power.
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