HEAR THIS: SARAH MARY CHADWICK

February 11. 2020 | By Wayne Jessup
Photo by Xixi Cao

Melbourne, Australia’s Sarah Mary Chadwick goes from strength to strength on new LP Please Daddy, the musical command carrying lacerating lyrics, washing away to leave behind a study of the power of will. This time out she tilts the canvas to a full band presentation, with enough space for the songs to both breathe and seethe. ‘Confessional’ or ‘Journey’ don’t even begin to plumb the depths of this LP, we’ll stick with ‘Rollercoaster’, and by the end, it’s some of the seemingly simplest tracks, “I’m Not Allowed In Heaven” and “Nothing Sticks”, that cut the deepest.

The video for “When Will Death Come”, produced by Tristan Scott Behrends and shot by Justen Hernandez, takes the harrowing personal implosion conceit and spins out a full-blown production highlighting its universality and suggesting redemption through connection. It stands well on its own as a short film, and as the lead track, it’s a visceral springboard to what lies ahead. Please Daddy is out now on Sinderlyn, and low key whisper it, but this is a record we’ll be talking about at the end of the year.

Leave a spot open when you’re setting your agenda for SXSW ’20. For evidence of her performance powers, consult “Confetti”, recorded on the 147 year-old pipe organ at the Melbourne Town Hall, from the live LP The Queen Who Stole The Sky.

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