Gordi

Reservoir (Liberation)

Australian songwriter Sophie Payten grew up surrounded by beautiful open spaces. Home was a rural property in Canowindra (pop 2381) – in the middle of nowhere. Gordi, her chosen stage name, has come out of nowhere with a debut album, Reservoir, that oozes the kind of freshness and aliveness of perspective that metropolitan living and suburbia can’t give you. Her beguiling contralto fits as perfectly pitching tales of the loss of a friendship, which is succinctly mourned on Long Way and I’m Done ,as it does jagged vocal loops, melodic chants and shuddering rhythms. A great discovery from the ‘‘outback’’. - Mike Alexander