Thank you, Canada. Canada's loss has certainly been New Zealand's gain since Tami Neilson upped sticks from her family's band and made Aotearoa her new home.
Since 2007, Tami's nailed award after award at the Tuis and created memorable songs and albums. Don't Be Afraid is no exception, if anything, it usurps the prophetically titled Dynamite. Tami Neilson's lyric writing just seems to get better and better, and with the tightest band around, the end result is simply Hot with a capital H.
The moods vary on Don't Be Afraid, from rollicking up-tempo workouts like Holy Moses, Burn My Body and Loco Mama to slow burners and Patsy Cline-like vocals on Only Tears and the outstanding first single Lonely, which features her buddy Marlon Williams in a cameo appearance.
The Christchurch port suburb of Lyttelton seems to have something in the air recently with a number of acts, including Neilson and Williams, finding sensational form in The Sitting Room recording studio.