It is with the greatest pleasure that Backseat Mafia exclusively brings you the second solo single this year from the singer/guitarist Alannah Russack, an icon of the indie music scene with her role on the legendary The Hummingbirds and more recently The Aerial Maps. ‘Tend Your Fire’ is a languid, slow burning fuse of a song – ambling along with a bluesy flow and a dixie swing, highlighted by mournful horns and harmonies (from Russack’s sister Kathryn).
The southern sound is redolent of Tom Waits with its swinging intensity and also recalls Nick Cave and The Triffids in full tilt with their wild cinematic outback sound. It is a vital and energising waltz.
Like her earlier single, ‘Place You Love’ (reviewed by me here), Russack imbues the track with positivity and hope – much needed in our current climes:
Tend your fire
Into the night
Tend your fire
Keep it burning bright
And if the embers
Die down to rest
Trust in your warm hearth
Now don’t you fret
Russack says of the song:
This song was written as a call to be lead by your heart and the tools of survival: breath, awareness and self inquiry. I imagine a crowd of people, carnivale style, marching, dancing, playing and singing in celebration of being alive. Yet the evolution of this piece was… alone in front of my wood fire in the Wollemi wilderness…
Indeed, despite the call for resilience, there is an underlying melancholy and an air of a faded carnival world: weary yet resolute, worn down but with a steely spirit. Russack is adept at reflecting the vicissitudes of life, observational and candid yet burning with a steadfast and uplifting optimism.
‘Tend Your Fire’ is out on Friday, 4 March through all the usual streaming and download sites but you can get a sneak listen and download here:
You can catch Russack this Sunday at the HiWay in Enmore, Sydney playing with the supergroup Victoria consisting of Cameron Emerson-Elliott (Youth Group), Alison Galloway (Smudge), Patrick Matthews (The Vines, Youth Group) and Max Doyle (Songs) – watch out for our exclusive premiere of their new single tomorrow.
Watch out for a debut solo album in early 2022 entitled ‘As Memories Pass Each Other’.
Performed by:
Alannah Russack- vocals, guitar
Jadey O’Regan- keyboards
Kathryn Russack – backing vocals
Marc Scully- bass
Paul Staddon- guitar
Shane Melder- drums
Byron McKay- trumpet
Feature Photograph: Alison Stewart Photography
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