Renee Millner - EP Review: Fly Me Back
Earlier
this month, I had the pleasure of reviewing New Zealand based Australian singer-songwriter
Renée Millner’s single Not OK, and much to my delight I have been
listening to her EP Fly Me Back over and over ever since.
The five songs contained within this album all carry a gentle strength both lyrically and melodically, and the music surrounding them is truly lovely.
Not OK feels like a reassuring hug from a best friend when your world’s falling apart – telling you everything will be ok in the end.
Cambodia is my favourite track without question – it brings me to tears in the same way Annie Lennox does when she asks Why. It feels heartbreakingly sad …and yet there’s something curiously hopeful in its lyrical offering, and the organ sounds fill my heart.
So Much feels like a throwback to another time – musically maybe more than anything, but the lyric is more strident and surer of itself than in days gone by, and the message has grown on me with every listen.
"Don’t tell me what I should wear." Amen!
Out Their Window is a storytelling song that pulls at your heartstrings… and I love the way harmonies and music add to the beauty of this tale.
Fly Me Back has so much to say, and I can hear why it’s the title track of the album – verses lead into the hook beautifully, and I love how sparse the music is and how gently the guitar guides the way.
"Fly me back from the edge" is a gorgeous line that carries much melancholy and yet holds so much hope, and overall, that’s the takeaway from listening to Renée's album.
Recorded with Sam Johnson of Rhythm Ace Studios and mastered by Chris Chetland, the lyrics are thoughtfully entwined with dreamy layers of vocals, guitar and piano that add to the song’s wistfully reflective tone.
Renée says “Part of the inspiration came from focusing on what really matters - the loved ones in your life. It’s also a reminder that you never really know what others are going through, so to move through the world with awareness and kindness.”
Renée is bringing her Fly Me Back tour to various venues over the next few weeks starting this weekend – I encourage you to make every effort to get along to a show near you.
About Renee Millner
As Renee says in discussing the track’s meaning, “The point is that sometimes we feel like we’re in the grip of something dark and malignant, when really it’s us that’s doing the gripping. And if, in those moments, we can release our hold, we create room for lighter, healthier things to enter.”
The single follows on from February’s emotive Out Their Windows, a song written in 2020 themed around the need to maintain connectedness in a pandemic world of limited social contact.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Renee Millner
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