EXPECTATIONS were high for Grace Turner after such a long wait. Thankfully the Newcastle indie singer-songwriter's EP Half Truths delivers on her promise.
Emotive and dark lyrics are the 30-year-old's calling card and she delivers plenty of melancholy on Crossed Your Mind when she cynically sings, "Has it ever crossed your mind?/ You will surely die/ Taken in the night/ There's no time for goodbyes."
Death and anger is a recurring theme throughout. On the sparkly opener Disdain, driven by a surf-rock riff, Turner again asks, "Is it confronting the places my mind's been?"
The other new track on the disappointedly short six-track EP, is the '90s-inspired Get Your Head Straight where Turner is almost willing herself to shake off the malaise she's found herself.
The EP features Turner's best-known track Dead Or Alive, but it feels out of place and too simplistic next the record's centre piece Half Light, which after exploring the complicated meanings of the word "half", builds into a crescendo of shimmering guitars, driving drums and Turner's haunting vocal.
4 stars
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
