Gin Wigmore’s sophomore release, Gravel And Wine, sounds like gravel and should be enjoyed with a big glass of the best red wine (or a bottle-full of the cheap stuff). New Zealand’s sultry, gravelly-voiced blonde bombshell has produced an album of attitude-soaked blues rock. Although, she did learn during its recording process that she doesn’t really have the blues – not the ‘real’ blues anyway. “I found out from a chap named Eddie, who had a penchant for moonshine, that I clearly ain’t got them blues if I could afford a plane ticket from New Zealand to Clarksdale [U.S of A],” she said.
Recorded in Santa Monica after a trip around the southern states of America, it is very much the product of self-discovery and the absorption of culture and tradition, including a church sermon led by Reverend Al Green.
What’s resulted is 11 tracks of grown-up Gin songs. Since her first album, Holy Smoke, her music has evolved to reflect adult desires, womanly love and the scope of human emotions.
For example, Devil In Me is an angsty track about lost love with a wild-west-esque intro while Happy Ever After is a story of lost love but it’s sadder, wiser and reflective.
Closer Singin’ My Soul’ is beautifully mellow and sorrowful and perfectly showcases Gin’s unique, smoky voice. After all, it’s her voice that makes the album. It’s this track where the consumption of wine is needed most – to drown her sorrows along with your own.
BY KELLY THEOBALD
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KELLY THEOBALD
