- She’s been up on a bendy pole defying gravity in front of millions of eager Eurovision Song Contest viewers, on top of a helter-skelter like structure surrounded by monstrous rabbits at the Sydney Opera House and lording it over (nearly) all she surveyed as “The Queen” on the recent series of The Masked Singer Australia. Kate Miller Heidke has seemingly, effortlessly, hopped from one style to another, never settling for long in one genre before she’s off again, Monty Python-esque, for something completely different.
It has been six years since O Vertigo, her last pop-music-based album and when it seemed that KMH had left the pop world behind, Child In Reverse has brought her back into a world where, to be truthful, she has never really enjoyed the consistent top of the chart success that the quality of her pop songs deserve. As for her constant nominations for ARIA Awards but never getting one of those gongs, it’s approaching something like Leonardo di Caprio’s fabled Oscar snubbing (whose drought was eventually broken, thanks in part, to an all too real special effects mama grizzly bear – does Kate need one of those?).
Child in Reverse consists of eleven tracks that if taken together lyrically chart KMH’s reflection on her childhood and the various events and actions that influenced her life and career as a musician. Commenting on the nature of lyrics she has said, "I realised when I looked back at all the songs that there was kind of a thread running through: it was about unlearning, unravelling of old habit and old thought patterns". The album’s title comes from the song Child of Divorce and despite the song’s ominous title, it is rather jaunty in a mid-tempo style, praising self-resilience and looking to the future, rather than the past.
The first single from what would later be announced as a full-length album, This Is Not Forever came as the world was reeling from the shattering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic’s first wave of infections, lockdowns and self-isolation. It is a gem of a song settled into a cello backing track with some finger clicks and KMH’s multi-tracked, layered voice going from breathy to full operatic – something which is quite definitely her signature style. That operatic trill KMH has used to great effect pops up on Simpatico with guest vocals from Mallrat (It seems that it must now be canon law that every Brisbane indie band/artist MUST include a contribution from Brisbane’s “indie queen” Grace Shaw - not that there is anything wrong with that. Seems everything she adds vocals to turns to gold).
In saying that the album is KMH’s return to pop music doesn’t mean that this is some shallow, one dimensional offering. Far from it. Put two songs side by side, for instance. Born Lucky is pure pop, with a quirky little beat matching an equally quirky lyric and pseudo-rapped verse and the next track Twelve Year Old Me is a gentle note to the past and a reflection on perspective, underscored by Keir Nuttall’s sensitive guitar playing that matches the lyrics, and the third single from the album A Quiet Voice is also blessed with a similar contribution.
As the album moves on, the production by Evan Klar on these eleven songs, along with KMH and Nuttall’s in-synch instrumentation (well, they are married, after all) and the various vocal stylings adopted by her, the album is clearly of its time. The one thing pop music always should be is that it sounds of the time it is made and, if possible, also be appreciated in a timeless manner as well. Many of the songs on Child in Reverse fit that description – Hectic Glitter and People Pleaser, to name but two. KMH’s operatic and musical theatre background haven’t been shunned entirely, as her current single Little Roots Little Shoots could be easily found on the boards of a theatre near you.
All the songs fit neatly around the three to four minute mark, another hallmark of “good” pop music and any one of them could (and should) receive airplay – and perhaps some recognition as well from the judging panel of the ARIAs? Catchy tunes with connective lyrics that are well sung, music that is equally well played -and being cleanly and sensitively produced- it’s a great pleasure to welcome Kate Miller Heidke back to the pop music world and one hopes that if the visit isn’t a long one, she makes the return visits more frequent.
- Blair Martin.