There’s always been something special about Catherine Traicos.
The mix of strength and fragility she brings to her music resonates deeply and truthfully. Since her first release in 2008, Catherine’s voice and songwriting have been captivating and intriguing many of the people who have heard her albums and seen her live.
Voted Female Artist of the Year in Unpaved’s Readers Poll of 2012, Catherine’s previous releases have also scored a number of coveted Album of the Week & Month gongs in various media outlets, both in Australia and the US.
Now, Catherine and her band The Starry Night are delighted to announce the release of their new album THE EARTH, THE SEA, THE MOON, THE SKY on November 29 through an Ocean Awaits Records. It’s the second album with The Starry Night, following on from 2011’s Gloriosa, and Catherine’s fifth release to date.
Together, Catherine and The Starry Night threw themselves into writing the songs on this album.
Combining their different musical backgrounds and personalities into one creative vision was exciting and fresh for everyone involved, and the end result has pleased them all.
Swirling and flowing with a mesmerising, almost hypnotic quality THE EARTH, THE SEA, THE MOON, THE SKY seductively engages the listener. Permeating throughout its 11 tracks are a pulsing sense of drama and an almost film grandeur, luring you deeper into its dark and dream-like world, slowly divulging the stories of the characters that exist within.
THE EARTH, THE SEA, THE MOON, THE SKY is not a concept album but it is an album whose beauty can only be fully realised when listening to it as a whole, so completely do the songs augment and accentuate one another.
While it is possible to point to musical influences: from the blues of Skip James, the picked guitar of Maybelle Carter, the psychedelia of the late sixties and the ethereal shoegaze of acts like Mazzy Starr and Cowboy Junkies, it is far harder to unpick these elements so seamlessly do they meld. It is indeed a genre-defying work.
With technology and commerce pushing musicians to release only singles, the return to the full album form is a phenomenon being embraced by many artists who are not swayed by public or business expectations but instead stay true to their muse, and to their listeners.
Catherine Traicos and the Starry Night’s 2013 offering falls into this unique category. Something is afoot here, something special and lovely.