A girl growing up in a small country town in Western Victoria disinterested in Aussie Rules, can feel like a stranger in a strange land. Thankfully, her older brother had a stereo and some vinyl. Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Dire Straits saved her from certain death by boredom and began a lifelong passion for songs.
On leaving school, she worked at everything from machinist, waitress, milking cows, nursing, anything that would pay her rent in her search for meaning. Music and her love of nature were the constants.
Years of roaming around Australia saw her settle in Byron Bay in the early 90s. She met ukulele/guitar virtuoso Azo Bell and they quickly formed successful duo Azo and Sara and in 1996 recorded their album ‘Tortoise Shell’. They travelled around Australia playing festivals, streets, cafes and halls.
The demise of that partnership led to Sara working on her first solo album, ‘Five Days’ in 2002. ABC radio picked up her autobiographical song “Down the Avenue” leading to her inclusion on ABC compilation album ‘Best of Airplay’ and to a television commercial for ABC with Sara on the back of a truck singing that song to cows. The dizzy heights.
While promoting ‘Five Days’, she played a show with alt country legend Bill Chambers. He became something of a mentor to Sara and when ready to record her second album, she called on Bill as producer. In 2006, the fruit of their labours became the critically acclaimed ‘Lucky the Sun’. Beautiful playing and some great songs ensured its success and led to the very dark “Heart it Was a Desert” being a finalist in the Americana category of the International Songwriting Competition and songs placed on ABC series East of Everything and commercial tv’s Bondi Rescue.
Now her third album is finally finished. Recorded at ‘My Sweet Mule’ studio in South Australia, with The Yearlings’ Chris Parkinson as producer, this latest album is her finest work to date. From the stunning opener “Golden” the album is bathed in the warmth of old school recording equipment and honest performances. Recorded live on tape, no doctoring and few overdubs, the integrity of this recording gives you a sense of being in the room with these fine musicians. It has the country/ folk styling of her previous work and the songs are a compelling mix of the narrative and the confessional. ‘Time’ by Sara Tindley is due for release nationally through Vitamin Records, September 5 2011.
Sara with her band, or solo, has played East Coast Blues and Roots Festivalx2, Mullum Music Festival x2, Gympie Muster, Splendour in the Grass, Tamworth Country Music Festival x 4, Wingham Akoostic Festival x2, and hotels, halls, cafes and loungerooms around the country.
*****
“Tindley displays a Lucinda Williams-like intensity and maturity in her writing, and the delicious folk, soul, blues and country stylings support her argument that a late-blooming girl has a place in the world.” Polly Coufos, The Australian
“I listen to a lot of new records every week, but nothing has echoed around in my head more consistently than the songs from Lucky The Sun” Marty Jones, Rhythms Magazine
“She’s everything today’s country music is and should be about…Lucky The Sun is a superb album, full of perceptive, warm and heartfelt songs delivered in a fresh contemporary way” Susan Jarvis, Capital News
Lyrically, she shows shades of Paul Kelly and Tim Rogers while musically sticking to a Lucinda Williams-esque country pop sound that’s about as sweet as anything that’s come out of the country for quite some time…compulsory listening for all supporters of Australian roots music” Dan Condon, Time Off
“Just when you are hoping for something to come along that presents fresh angles to the country tradition in the way that Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams and Kasey Chambers manage to do, along comes Sara Tindley.” Noel Mengel, The Courier Mail
