Warriors
Warner Music Australia
It was a decade ago now that Lisa Mitchell was beamed into people’s homes as the shy and introspective schoolgirl with a folkish lilt to her voice, as she made her way through to the later stages of Australian Idol. Divorcing herself from the mega-machine that is TV oriented pop, she took a more subdued approach to her first records.
Warriors finds Mitchell three albums into her journey and the awkward inward looking young woman is coming out of her shell. Guitars and piano have been stripped away from the album with a broader sense of flavours shining through. Mitchell sees this as a natural result for someone who doing a lot more dancing in her life lately.
There is more depth to the writing this time around with Boys talking about the journey Mitchell went through with her hometown friends as they mourned the passing of a mates’ dad. The result is a lithe tune of friendship in spite of the circumstances. The lack of clutter and more percussive nature of the tunes gives Mitchell the opportunity to deliver a more confident vocal as she matures as an artist.
Lisa Mitchell has emerged from the double edged sword of reality TV relatively unscathed as she continues to grow as an artist with each outing. At 26 years of age, it feels that she is on the cusp of making a classic record.
3 1/2 Stars
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
