Carry Nation

Though she takes her performance name from early-1900s anti alcohol activist Carry A Nation, a cantankerous dame who went around smashing up bars with a hatchet, it's not likely a planned act of government support that Brisbane's Jessie Warren has delivered her debut album just as the Queensland capital is facing further absurd liquor licensing restrictions. Like A River Does is far from a bar-smasher of a folk record, though it's also not grown from the kind of late-night barroom whisky-swilling much of the city's inner-city songwriter output has etched scenes in recent years. There's something far more domestic and welcoming to this, akin to the nuanced but accessible stuff Gorgeous once made.

Not attempting anything in the way of a grandiose statement of sounds, Warren relies on her ability to pen a simply affecting tune and nurses her songs primarily with an accoustic guitar and her broadly accented (well, she's from Queensland) voice, with a gathering of local friends to add extra, though subtle, instrumentation. The waking notes of trumpet rise from the delicately picked Respect Your Elders; cello leads the down-facing slow-dance of the Beth Orton-touching Braking Is For Heroes; droned harmonies, wooden percussion and a few piano twinkles happen somewhere in the background of Phil Spector, a tale of regret that manages to give weight to lyrics like darkly humorous (given the title) opening line, "Uh-oh, the secrets we keep, the white lies that we say," and leads into, "In rage I killed my wife".

It's those kind of lyrics, too, that reveal Warren as a deft storyteller who never once loses your ear. Hers is a conversational but wrenching voice: the girl next door done wrong, the singer who could probably wow with a long-held note but uses her ability to far more grabbing and emotive effect. Like A River Does is evidence that sometimes it takes a less complicated approach to get through; and get through Carry Nation does.

- INPRESS Magazine

Carry Nation is notable for its strong female voice, both metaphorically and literally. The songwriting is powerful, and the vocals demonstrate just how beautiful a strong, female, Aussie voice can be, especially with some well-placed vocal harmonies. Standouts are murder ballad ‘Phil Spector’ and ‘Prisoner’ for its oppositional guitar line.

- Time Off Magazine

If you like your singer songwriter productions thoughtful and backed by cello, then I daresay you may appreciate what this Brisbane songstress (real name Jessie Warren) has to offer. One listen to her debut album Like a River Does had me quite captivated really - there's an austere simplicity to these recordings - that uncovers every hum and finger pick.

The tunes' foundations lie in guitar and voice composition. These have been subtlety built on (brass, strings, percussion) with a sensibility that reminds me of fellow Brisbanian McKisko's work. It doesn't surprise me that she's landed on complementary local shows with McKisko, Darren Hanlon, and Laura Jean.
Warren's lengthy commute to uni left her with notepads full of reflective musings; the kind that pop out when you forget your walkman, then start to wonder if you're doing the right things with your life. That reflective, transient mood haunts the album. It's had a calming effect on me this arvo!

You can catch some of these tracks on her Unearthed profile and keep and eye out for her debut full-length Like a River Does.
- Triple J - Home and Hosed