Los Angeles-based Kiwi singer-songwriter Jackie Bristow's latest country album might be quiet, but it's confident, too, writes Shane Gilchrist.
Jackie Bristow has been up since 4.30am, having temporarily relocated from her Los Angeles base to Brisbane before embarking on a 14-show solo tour of New Zealand to mark the release of a new album.
Still, if she's tired, she's not complaining.
"It's always a bit of a working holiday for me. I love to come home, and touring is a good way to fund my trip. I've got a lot of shows this time around and am going to some places I haven't been before.
"I'm bringing my boyfriend so I wanted to show off New Zealand to him.''
Hmmm. Boyfriend?
This news prompts an interjection: don't almost all of the songs of her fourth studio album, Shot of Gold, deal with the end of a relationship?
Bristow laughs: "I've moved on.''
Out this Friday, the independently released effort (distributed in New Zealand by Marbecks), follows 2010's Freedom, 2007 Tui award-nominated Crazy Love and her debut effort, Thirsty (2002).
Unlike much of Freedom, which boasted several strident bar-rockers, Shot of Gold is a quiet, often melancholy affair dusted with acoustic guitars, occasional banjo, mandolin and warm double bass.
The instrumentation is relatively spare, allowing the Gore-raised singer-songwriter's voice to shine.
Bristow wrote much of the material that would end up on the album while she was living in Austin, Texas.
Motivated by good press and a supportive environment, she had moved there from Los Angeles in mid-2008, for a time securing a regular gig at Austin's One World Theatre, opening for Rodney Crowell and Ricki Skaggs, among others.
"I was inspired by southern blues and country roots music and the people I met in a great live music scene. I stepped away from trying to write commercial, mainstream music and wrote stories from my heart and my life.''
Produced by Australian musician and longtime collaborator Mark Punch (whose credits include Kasey Chambers and Jimmy Barnes), Shot of Gold benefits from a seemingly relaxed approach to recording.
"Initially, Mark and I recorded a few songs and they sounded beautiful, so we began to add double bass, then Mark played some sparse guitars. It happened really organically,'' Bristow explains.
"I hadn't really known how to approach the album. I'd talked to a whole lot of producers but they wanted a lot of money. Mark and I are old friends; he played on the album, produced it and mixed it.''
Bristow recorded most of her vocals as she would a live performance, eschewing guide tracks in favour of a rawer approach.
The result: songs that brim with confidence.
"Really, that's the way it should be done, particularly if you are used to performing live and banging your guitar and singing at the same time.
"I think the approach allowed the lyrics to stand out a bit more, instead of being glossed over in the production.''
Among the songs of heartache, longing and defiance, Fallen Youth stands out.
Its lyrics are taken from a poem written by an unnamed Anzac soldier who fought in World War 1.
Written in remembrance of the Gallipoli centenary, the single was released in March last year.
"That song arrived in my lap,'' Bristow explains.
"I have a friend from Gore who is a New Zealand soldier. He'd found this poem and carried it around for years until he visited my parents and told them he wanted me to perform it. I started singing it at my shows in America.
"It is a very good poem. It is not overdone, but people do sometimes cry when I sing it.''
Bristow's national tour winds up in late March, after which she plans to return to Los Angeles.
She'll be there for six weeks before returning to Australia for a series of shows that include a guest appearance at the Norfolk Island Country Music Festival in late May.
Then it's back to California.
"I have a great band in Los Angeles. I'm hoping we might do an EP fairly soon. I'm just keen to keep things ticking along.
"The main reason I went back to California is because of the touring circuit. I have a residency at a place called the Piano Bar, which is an amazing place to play. But I make my living up the coast north of Los Angeles, performing at wineries, as well as smaller venues.
"And house concerts are a good way to make some money, too. The hosts take them really seriously and do it for the love of it.''
Of course, there's all that Northern Californian wine to consider, too.
Could such a circuit be dangerously convivial?Bristow laughs, then trails off.
"Yeah, although the gigs are never as rowdy as those in New Zealand.''
See her, hear her
• Jackie Bristow's Shot of Gold is released on Friday, February 5.
• She performs solo at the following venues:
• Bannockburn Hotel, March 6
• The Sherwood, Queenstown, March 10
• Kingston Station, March 12
• Suzie Q, Invercargill, March 15
• Longford Function Centre, Gore, March 16
• Carey's Bay Hotel, Dunedin, March 20
A little history
• Inspired by a music teacher, Jackie Bristow began singing in a Gore choir at the age of 8.
• Encouraged by her grandmother, Jackie sang with her sister, Katrina, in an outfit called The Bristow Sisters.
• In 1995 her muse led her to Australia where she worked as a nanny by day before singing at night in clubs.
• Five years later, a copy of her demo reached the desk of Michael Gudinski, who signed her to write for Mushroom Music and record for Liberation Records (she released several singles and her debut album, Thirsty, in Australia and New Zealand).
• Her songs have been used in Australian film and television, including The Secret Life Of Us, Home And Away and Go Big.
• Bristow has toured with Art Garfunkel, Madeleine Peyroux, Renee Geyer, Mark Seymour and Capercaille, and in 2006 opened a tour for Daniel Lanois. Last year, she opened for internationally acclaimed guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, with whom she is also touring later this year.
