Look Up - Music

Toni Collette Delivers A Velvet Gloved Punch With Her Much Anticipated Debut Album Which Contains Eleven Self-Penned Tracks Written Over The Last Ten Years. 'Beautiful Awkward Pictures' Charts Collette's Fluctuating Emotions As She's Worked Her Way Round The Globe And Reflects Her Growth As A Person And An Artist. Laying Herself Open In Her Usual Honest And Unaffected Way Collette's Lyrics Are Often Poetic Intimate Observations Of Life And The World Around Her And This Makes For A Heady Soul-Stirring Mix. 'Beautiful Awkward Pictures' A Modest Collection Of Musical Gems At Times Raw At Times Rich Is Unapologetically Eclectic In Style From The Inspirational And Tender 'This Moment Is Golden' Which Fills The Listener With Hope While The Lush String Arrangements Of The Debut Single 'Beautiful Awkward Pictures' Support Toni's Powerful But Vulnerable Vocal Skills. Piano Strains Permeate The Entire Recording But Particularly Within 'Vitamin Pills' An Ode To Modern Excess Balanced By The Simple And Evocative Picture Etched When 'jonny Left His Lips On My Window Last Night' 'Jonny's Lips' . 'Look Up' Allows Collette's Vocals To Really Fly And Her Band "The Finish" To Rise With Her To Heart Pounding Heights. "The Finish" All Successful Musicians In Their Own Right Include Collette's Husband Dave Galafassi With His Instinctive Drumming And Percussion Singer/songwriter Glenn Richards Augie March And His Unique And Evocative Guitar Sound Multitalented Pete Farley Solid As A Rock On Bass Guitar And Sydney Singer/songwriter David Lane Providing An Emotional Underscore To The Album With His Sublime Piano Prowess. Self-Funded And Independently Recorded In A Wooden Studio Built By Collette And Her Husband The Musicians Lived And Worked Together For Three Weeks. The Agreed Ethos Was That Performance Would Hold Sway Over Studio Trickery Feeling Over Formula. And Under The Helm Of Collette And Her Co-Producer And Friend Musician Willy Zygier They Jammed In A Studio Surrounded By Tall Eucalypts Combining Their Knowledge And Talents In A Vigorous Week-Long Rehearsal Before Award-Winning Engineer And Producer Paul McKercher Augie March/ You Am I/ The Cruel Sea/ Eskimo Joe Arrived And With His Usual Graceful Aplomb Brought The Whole Thing Together. Weeks Later They Reconvened At Melbourne's Sing Sing Studios To Record Vocals And Backing Vocals Organ Mandolin And Banjo. A Sultry String Quartet Arranged By Naomi Radom From CODA Fame Was Added For That Extra Dimension. Paul McKercher Immediately Began Mixing And The Whole Album Was Mastered At Stirling Studios In New York. Of Her First Album 'Beautiful Awkward Pictures' Collette Says " I Never Wanted This Record To Be A Big Loud Statement. I Just Wanted It To Be Quiet Organic And Very Old School Cruisey In A Lo-Fi Kind Of Way. It's Like In Life There Are The People Who Talk A Lot And Need A Lot Of Attention And Then There Is Someone Who Is Really Quiet - I Want My Record To Be Like That Quiet Person. The More You Get To Know It The More You Like It" Www.Tonicolletteandthefinish.Com read less