SWANSONGS is the tenth studio album from acclaimed artist Catherine Traicos.

By Graeme Smith

Despite being well-known on the other side of the world, it’s the first time the music of the Australian artist is appearing on these pages. Her tenth studio album takes on the rise and fall of a relationship, showing us through her personal song writing and raw emotion why she’s such a force to be reckoned with.

Catherine wrote the album over two weeks in a “haunted apartment” in Sydney before taking it to Anna Laverty to be produced. Together they have created a varied soundscape that ranges from intimate acoustic to audacious electric, all unfolding over nine tracks.

The album opens with the atmospheric heartbeat intro of A Heartbeat Away. The pulsating is joined by a looping, pensive piano melody before Catherine’s expressive vocals come in. They deliver lyrics that speak of heartache and finding a way out of it. It’s a gripping start.

And You Want To Run To Me keeps things introspective while its stripped-back instrumental allows Catherine’s lyrics to take centre stage. A Simple Thought gives us soul-searching against a cinematic backdrop of piano and strings before Forgiven rounds off the early listening with a lilting, confessional electronic wonder. It’s a highlight.

Sitting at the heart of the album, By Your Eyes is a delicate, ambient meditation. It tees up a second half that includes the stirring O Darling Don’t Be That Way, the textured, melancholic Home, the timeless Holy Hell and soulful album closer Shadow Love.

With her tenth album, Catherine Traicos has released an experimental masterpiece that, at its core, is relatable, emotional tale. There’s enough nuance in it for multiple listens.

SWANSONGS was recorded at Tiny Music Studios in Cottesloe, Western Australia and includes contributions from Philip Everall, John Bannister, Grant Ferstat, and Gareth Skinner. The album is out now and you can give it a listen below.