Catherine Traicos

Zimbabwe-born, Sydney-based chanteuse delivers again.
Now on her fifth album, Catherine Traicos has produced a collection that is solemn yet compelling. These unsettling blues-influenced songs simmer with a sense of noir, an impressive meeting of the earthy song-writing of Beth Orton with the grim undercurrents of, say, Portishead. The Southern Gothic mood is largely down to Darren Nuttall’s sensitive guitar and Jason Walker’s sumptuous pedal steel. Traicos’ vocals remain the centerpiece, however, with everything fusing perfectly on the wonderfully melodic “Sunshine”. The odd departure from earnestness might have added variety but this remains a stirring effort.

Barnaby Smith, Rolling Stone Magazine, February 2014 Issue 747 - Rolling Stone Magazine

Sydney-based singer-songwriter Catherine Traicos released her album The Earth, The Sea, The Moon, The Sky in the November of 2013.
In my opinion, it’s the perfect showcase of her abilities and talents, in both performing and song-writing.
Her bio identifies her as a blend of alternative country, blues, roots and folk. To be honest, I don’t disagree. It’s not that each song is chock-full of homages to each genre, no. It’s that each track on her album is distinctly different from the previous, while still remaining true to her signature sound.
“One By One” is a lovely, simple track which helps open and introduce the tone of the album. Catherine’s vocals are smooth, silky and slinky. She’s like a shiny black cat as it simpers the dark alleyways of Paris at midnight. The second track of her album- “All the Angels” really demonstrates this as well. I love her voice. It’s soft and non-committal, but there’s a deep passion for music.
Her power comes from whispering, from breathing the words the carry the lazy tune, the tune that keeps the backing band, The Starry Night, in check.
Her album shows versatility, while it also shows her. The difference between tunes like “Light in the Dark” and “Devil’s Lover” still exemplify the sheer beauty of Catherine’s voice, while the tunes demonstrate her execution of different genres. “Devil’s Lover” is a little bit smooth-jazz with balanced equalising and guitar solos to support. It’s a rather professional, well-polished track that shows dynamism and control. In comparison, “Light in the Dark” has more of a catchy beat, a faster tempo, a difference in percussion and it sounds as if the guitar’s been amped up to a different setting.
Her master plan is very clever, she uses the same instruments amplified a little differently to bring out a different genre or to draw out a different ambiance. Her final track on The Earth, The Sea, The Moon, The Sky album is “A Stranger’s Lullaby” has a really nice base line.
To me, her music should either be turned up to the max with good quality headphones – to really appreciate all the layers underneath her smooth voice, or as light background music to an artisan exotic furniture store with mahogany and cedar tables and carved fruit bowls and sandalwood.
She’s calming and her voice is wonderful. She’s my kind of music.
REGI SU – 6 January 2014 - Get Shot Magazine

The Earth, The Sea, The Moon, The Sky is Sydney based singer/songwriter Catherine Traico's follow up to the extolled album Gloriosa with the band The Starry Night. It's fair to say it definitely exceeds expectations.

Bringing her usual mix of folk-roots-blues sound and fragile lyrics, Catherine creates a silky soundscape of dreamy melodies with moments of severe punch. Her story telling ability and lyrical structure mirror those of Jeff Buckley, however she includes the occasional quirky hook of the likes of Regina Spektor which is highlighted best on the closing track 'A Strangers Lullaby.'

'One by One' is the perfect opening to this 11 track album, setting the tone for the rest of Catherine's compositions. Sedative electric guitar accompanies the soft vocals and forces you to get sucked into a dream-like state and will leave you slowly swaying side to side.

This is contrasted by 'Light in the Dark' which utilised strong drum beats and tambourine to create a driving, dark piece which stands out among the rest.

All-in-all, The Earth, The Sea, The Moon, The Sky is a memorable collection of smooth sounds which have been excellently composed and produced.

Catherine and The Starry Night will be captivating audiences in Sydney and other NSW towns while on tour this December.

MADDISON MCHUGH - 18 November 2013 - The Dwarf

The fifth album from Perth-based Catherine Traicos sees her edge away from folky prettiness into rockier territory. Indeed, the addition of a full band (as of 2011’s Gloriosa) seems to be pushing the singer-songwriter in all sorts of new directions. Single Light In The Dark is a gutsy, raucous affair, with the usually restrained Traicos belting out the chorus. There’s a playfulness on show, with the sublime Share Your Heartevoking both a smoky beat-poet bar and a bluesy spiritual.Sunshine is part country, part Mogwai-style post-rock; The Dream comes close to joyful pop. The slightly burnt tenderness of Traicos’ early work is in place, but fleshed out into something more substantial and impressive than ever.
MYKE BARTLETT - 22 November 2013 - The Weekly Review (Melbourne)

Catherine Traicos was destined to play roots music with the regularity that she has changed locations. Her father was a test cricketer for Zimbabwe before Traicos settled in Perth to cut her songwriting chops before moving to Sydney and forming her band The Starry Night. The Earth, The Sea, The Moon, The Sky is her second album with The Starry Night to complement her three solo records.
Traicos has a warm voice that would see her well placed to play a chanteuse in a David Lynch film, with her music also having a noir element to it. The Starry Night may be a disparate collection of individuals with members having spent time in bands such as the chaotic indie of The Tucker B’s and Sydney popsters Wires, but the sounds on The Earth, The Sea, The Moon, The Sky resonate with a consistent sound.
There is a darkness to the tunes of Traicos whether it be the spacious All The Angles, or the almost immediate melody ofCarry Me Away. The Starry Night are a great foil for the well travelled songwriter, but it is her ardent voice that deserves the most attention.
The Earth, The Sea, The Moon, The Sky isn’t one to kick start your party, but it is perfectly suited to a night at home with your shoes off and your ears open.
CHRIS HAVERCROFT - 26 November 2013 - X-Press Magazine

Sydney singer-songwriter Catherine Traicos’ voice has been compared to the likes of Beth Orton and PJ Harvey. Having said that, it has developed over past albums into a one bearing the singer’s own stamp. In fact, the overall effect of her vocal meanderings is at the forefront taking the listener on a most welcoming journey. There are hints of the 60′s French chanteuse in her style and tone. Tracks from the hypnotic and dreamlike to the strong first single ‘Light in The Dark’. Demons are veiled in human apparel and examination of self is both cryptic and revealing. Traicos’ classical music training brings a crafted depth across the tracks. The album was produced by multi-ARIA award winner Paul McKercher and recorded at the studio of Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil). The Starry Night is Darren Nuttall on electric guitar, bassist Kasper Kiely and drummer Tim Day. They are a tight outfit delivering just right balance of moods to suit the singer and the material. The whole is elegant, touching, textured and built to grow with each listen. Also available on limited release on vinyl.
CHRIS LAMBIE - 25 December 2013 - Forte Magazine

Returning for her second stint with the The Starry Night following up the acclaimed Gloriosa in 2011, Catherine Traicos brings us another record of breathy vocals accompanied by superbly-timed, intricate instrumental backings in The Earth, The Sea, The Moon, The Sky. Bluegrass, folk, indie, alternative, country – it’s become increasingly common to read an extensive list in the genre classification these days – and The Earth, The Sea, The Moon, The Sky is another record that has been consequently dubbed as ‘genre-defying’.
The 11-track LP skirts the line between the tested and true, and original, more provocative material for Traicos. There is an absence of real lyrical complexity; however Traicos utilises her vocal gifts to weave gorgeous songs out of simple-yet-purposeful and poignant words.
First single, Light In The Dark, is the unequivocal ‘rock’ ballad of the record, and the only track that will have you moving faster than a gentle sway. Share Your Heart and Devil’s Lover, sprawled with clackers and halted, almost spoken word poetry, may be considered ‘jazz’. And whether intended or not, the ultra-wistfulCarry Me Away maintains such a pleasant lullaby melody that one can’t help but feel heavy-lidded and soothed by Traicos’ ethereal voice.
You can almost see Traicos draped in black satin, barely visible on a dimly lit jazz club stage as you listen to parts of this record, and that’s quite an accomplishment, however you want to classify it.
ASH GOLDBERG - 5 December 2013 - The Music

Catherine Traicos was voted Best Female Artist in Unpaved’s Reader’s Poll for 2012, and her latest full-length release easily confirms her worthiness of this title. In Another Life marks her fourth album release and continues the full band recording arrangement seen on 2011’s very accomplished Gloriosa record. The popular Sydney folk-roots/contemporary-pop artist here proves her penchant for cleverly evocative songwriting delivered in her distinctive sultry voice.

As with previous releases, Traicos forges a shrewd confidence through her singing and guitar / piano accompaniment here. Much of the power rests on poetic storytelling and delightful insights which – if only momentarily – will chill you from nowhere like an ice-cube down the back. The closing twist of ‘Dream Swim’ (where she declares to “the boy with eyes so green” that she’s the one for him, “it seems”) provides a prime example of this bitter-sweet romanticism which at times startles with rushes of affection. The album’s chord structures can feel repetitive on the initial listen, but with time, the refined aspects to each track become more apparent. This record confirms that Traicos has a subtle knack for drawing the listener under the shroud of her own inner world, where instruments are deftly selected to enhance the emotive notes, and minimalist lyrics leave much of the labour to poignant metaphor and moody introspection.

Traicos has assembled a classy band, mostly used sparingly and with an ear for diversity: such as the warm banjo which plucks away on ‘The Ceiling’, and Gareth Skinner’s cello work – particularly affecting on the intense ‘Fought My Love’ and ‘Lost On The Sea’. Skinner is also responsible for string arrangements, and this sporadic element to the sound suitably enhances the more brooding sections of the tunes.

The production by multi-instrumentalist Nick Huggins is adventurous and satisfying, as sparse piano notes and vibraphones duel with bubbly tape loops and popping percussion. Huggins himself contributes his versatile playing across these eleven tracks – with the dobro, which floats through a number of the songs, being a standout. My only complaint would be that the folky lead vocal occasionally feels slightly swamped by the arrangement, as Traicos’ voice – in the whispery yet expressive vein of Hope Sandoval or Chan Marshall (Cat Power) – at times chokes on a word, with its reflective fragility. But for the most part the phrases are clear, and instruments avoid impeding – which can often be the danger with this progressive blend of electronic and ‘old timey’ instrumentation.

Catherine Traicos again distinguishes with a harmonious collection of tracks, validating her place in the hearts of a huge number of Unpaved readers. This is a richly contemplative but ultimately relaxing record to put on high rotation of a summer evening, perhaps with a cold gin and tonic in hand, lazing under the deep night sky.
- Unpaved

Catherine Traicos was voted Best Female Artist in Unpaved’s Reader’s Poll for 2012, and her latest full-length release easily confirms her worthiness of this title. In Another Life marks her fourth album release and continues the full band recording arrangement seen on 2011’s very accomplished Gloriosa record. The popular Sydney folk-roots/contemporary-pop artist here proves her penchant for cleverly evocative songwriting delivered in her distinctive sultry voice.

As with previous releases, Traicos forges a shrewd confidence through her singing and guitar / piano accompaniment here. Much of the power rests on poetic storytelling and delightful insights which – if only momentarily – will chill you from nowhere like an ice-cube down the back. The closing twist of ‘Dream Swim’ (where she declares to “the boy with eyes so green” that she’s the one for him, “it seems”) provides a prime example of this bitter-sweet romanticism which at times startles with rushes of affection. The album’s chord structures can feel repetitive on the initial listen, but with time, the refined aspects to each track become more apparent. This record confirms that Traicos has a subtle knack for drawing the listener under the shroud of her own inner world, where instruments are deftly selected to enhance the emotive notes, and minimalist lyrics leave much of the labour to poignant metaphor and moody introspection.

Traicos has assembled a classy band, mostly used sparingly and with an ear for diversity: such as the warm banjo which plucks away on ‘The Ceiling’, and Gareth Skinner’s cello work – particularly affecting on the intense ‘Fought My Love’ and ‘Lost On The Sea’. Skinner is also responsible for string arrangements, and this sporadic element to the sound suitably enhances the more brooding sections of the tunes.

The production by multi-instrumentalist Nick Huggins is adventurous and satisfying, as sparse piano notes and vibraphones duel with bubbly tape loops and popping percussion. Huggins himself contributes his versatile playing across these eleven tracks – with the dobro, which floats through a number of the songs, being a standout. My only complaint would be that the folky lead vocal occasionally feels slightly swamped by the arrangement, as Traicos’ voice – in the whispery yet expressive vein of Hope Sandoval or Chan Marshall (Cat Power) – at times chokes on a word, with its reflective fragility. But for the most part the phrases are clear, and instruments avoid impeding – which can often be the danger with this progressive blend of electronic and ‘old timey’ instrumentation.

Catherine Traicos again distinguishes with a harmonious collection of tracks, validating her place in the hearts of a huge number of Unpaved readers. This is a richly contemplative but ultimately relaxing record to put on high rotation of a summer evening, perhaps with a cold gin and tonic in hand, lazing under the deep night sky.
- Unpaved

It takes a very talented person to be able to mold the alt-country, blues, roots and folk genres into a style almost exclusively their own. On her latest album, singer songwriter Catherine Traicos & her band The Starry Night, have managed to do this, the result of which is Gloriosa, a sublime collection of recordings that draws the listener in right from the opening chords to the concluding strum of the guitars.

The delicate tones and inflections that Traicos' voice offers throughout this album are so fine that at times they can raise the hairs on your neck, as you feel so close to the singer and her lyrics. Think Beth Orton meets Brandi Carlile, then throw in a dash of the rawness of Gillian Welch and Lucinda Williams and you will find yourself thinking of Catherine Traicos. But she can not be totally compared to other singers, as her own empyrean vocals are inimitable and captivating.

Putting pen to paper, Catherine Traicos' lyrics are honest and at times confronting. The pain evoked from 'Don't'Leave Me This Way' is so unfeigned that the writer must surely be drawing on a real experience, whilst the divergent song 'Walk Into the Stars' conveys the pursuit of a possible new love and the flirtatious sensations that come with it. These lyrics are transcendent and compel you to listen over and over again.

Making an album of this calibre is no easy feet and with 5-time ARIA award winning producer Paul McKercher producing the record and her new band The Starry Night comprising of guitarist Darren Nuttall (Tucker B's, Machete Moon), bassist Kasper Kiely (Sketching Cato) and drummer Tim Day (O), the alt country chaunteuse is well supported. The band and their music ebbs and sways with Traicos' torchsong vocals and is produced to perfection by McKercher.

Clear a space on your coffee table, as this year's coffee table album has arrived. Buy a copy for yourself and at the same time, buy another copy for someone else you know who loves music, and with a good bottle of wine, prepare to be drawn into Gloriosa.

Adam Simon - Country HQ

Every once in a while, a record quietly emerges from nowhere and kind of bowls you over. Back in 2009, I stumbled across Sydney-based singer/songwriter Catherine Traicos’ second album, the aptly named The Amazing, quite by accident. Her songs are near hymnal: whisper quiet, intimate confessionals of love, life and loss. She recalls, at different times, many different artists - there’s a touch of the Cowboy Junkies’ Margot Timmons in her husky, confiding voice and also something of the similarly quietly confessional vocals of fellow Australians Jen Cloher and Holly Throsby. The ten songs that make up Gloriosa, her recently released third studio recording, are all profoundly personal in nature. Indeed, Traicos had originally intended to call the album The Love Inside (which is the final line of the second track, ‘Beg For Love’) but had her mind changed by a walk through post-flood Brisbane earlier this year. The Zimbabwe-born Traicos was so struck by the unexpected beauty of a flower - the Gloriosa Superba - that was thriving in the muddy, swamp-like conditions that she decided to name the album after the plant.

In many ways, it’s a fitting metaphor for the emotions explored in the album’s songs. Resolutely lo-fi and alt-country, Traicos has the sort of voice that haunts the listener. Whether it’s keeping you company in the middle of the night, emanating softly from the stereo speakers in your bedroom, or it has you pressing "repeat" on your iPod as you go about the daily grind of living, Gloriosa is a gorgeously accomplished record. Opening track ‘Australian Sun’ pairs Traicos’ tremblingly beautiful voice with cello accompaniment and ‘Walk Into The Stars’ is a tender, sadly ruminative country ballad. Traicos is a classically trained pianist and guitarist, though she employs many other instruments in bringing her songs to life. There is a strong bass-line underpinning ‘Let You Go’ and elsewhere cello, keyboard and electric autoharp make appearances. There’s also a synthesizer, tuned to replicate the sound of a theramin, on ‘Love’s Widow.’ It’s a tune that brings to mind the heart-wrenching predicaments of the women Gillian Welch sings about: "I am the widow of being in love / I was cast down from the wings of a dove / There was no room for me up above / I am the widow of being in love." Traicos both writes and sings from an extraordinarily intimate, personal place. Her songs hit close to the bone, stirring something deep within the listener, and lingering long in your consciousness. Gloriosa is a wonderful record: stirring, delicate, quietly powerful and very moving. - Time Off Magazine

Is Sydney singer/ songwriter Catherine Traicos the best new talent this country has to offer at the moment? This writer – admittedly somewhat smitten, but still – thinks that she probably is. There was her delightful debut, Gone, as assured a first album as any in recent memory. Then there was her stunning follow up, The Amazing, which pushed the limits of the possibilities of the singer songwriter’s art, garnering an Album of the Month gong in The Age and Album of the Year in this very publication. And now we have Gloriosa, somewhat more of a band album than Traicos’ previous work, utilising the prodigious talents of semi-supergroup The Starry Night and producer extraordinaire Paul McKercher. But Gloriosa still displays Traicos’ trademark heart-rending writing skills and is infused with a musicality and a commanding third album poise that marks it out assuredly for True Masterpiece status.
Inpress opens with the question of whether or not Traicos felt any performance anxiety making Gloriosa due to the fact that her last record was so well received. But it seems, oddly enough given what a superstar she is, that the anxiety was all about other things.
“Thanks for saying that The Amazing was well received, but it always really comes down to my own opinion. I think that sometimes we feel anxiety because we know we can be good. I’m also convinced that we need a bit of anxiety to get us motivated. I was kind of thinking that I needed to move away from what I’d done before, particularly in the sense of getting a band together. That’s something I’ve always had stage fright with. Dealing with instruments is much easier than dealing with people. But people have been encouraging me to get others to play with me and the band kind of formed from that. I think it was looking at the other records as well. If I just sit at home and make an album, just me recording, that’s fine, that’s all about me and I can do that, but getting other people involved, it just becomes an entirely different process. Best to embrace that.”
As mentioned above Gloriosa was produced by Paul McKercher, who has worked with Augie March, You Am I and The Cruel Sea, just to name a few. Interestingly, though, Traicos says that it wasn’t his status as a Big Time Producer that attracted her so much as some telling personal interaction.
“I was studying audio production and he came and lectured us. He’s so inspiring as a lecturer. I just thought, ‘I think I might ask him to produce my next album’. I asked him how much he charged and he was way out of my price range. Then a few months later I sent him a copy of The Amazing and a few songs I was working on. He emailed me and said ‘the songs are growing on me. I’d like to work with you’. So, that’s how that happened. He was so inspiring to work with. He even came along to rehearsals: that’s just above and beyond for a producer, really.”
And Traicos tells another story about McKercher that reveals – despite the fact the man is obviously a wealth of knowledge – that he is still willing to learn.
“When he was giving his lecture, he said something about how musicians should always try and avoid scraping the strings on their instruments and how much he hated that kind of thing. I kind of stood up and took issue with that and said that I thought sometimes string scrapes could add to the charm of a song, like with Eliot Smith, for example. He immediately took back what he’d just said and conceded that sometimes they can really work for a song. He’s just someone who’s constantly brushing up on his knowledge. It’s so great.”
But it is not only McKercher’s skills at the desk that were responsible for the magnificent warmth of this record. The instrumentation on Gloriosa is as well thought out as any in this writer’s recent memory, making adroit use of the delicious balance between electric and acoustic guitar, cello – arguably the warmest of all instruments, pedal steel and Wurlitzer, among others. And Traicos explains that there was also another decidedly old school aspect to the process. As if this wasn’t warmth enough already, it seems that vinyl fetishists such as your correspondent are in for some fun times ahead, too.
“We recorded it to tape, which was quite difficult at times. The tape machine kept overheating. But it was unbelievable how much better it sounded, how much more of a wonderful warmth it gave it. It’s going to be released on vinyl; we just got the pressings last week. So, that’s exciting. Vinyl is a much more engaging experience, it’s so tactile, and it has a smell. It’s so much more alive.”
This, of course, begs the question of how Traicos and her band will go about reproducing this warmth on stage. It seems that the singer/ songwriter has supreme faith in the outfit she has assembled, and that she thinks the wildly different animals of live and studio music will present no barrier.
“That’s always a tough one, isn’t it? I think that recreating the studio sound comes down to that ability - Inpress

TOP PICK \ Music
GLORIOSA \ Catherine Traicos
Sydney-based singer Catherine Traicos was asking for trouble when she called her last LP The Amazing. Happily, the record lived up to its (possibly ironic) title. Even more happily, its follow-up is even better. Formerly a one-woman show, Traicos has recruited a full band – dubbed the Starry Night – and the result is a more coherent, country-tinged sound. Traicos’ distinctive rasping vocals drift like campfire smoke over these rootsy arrangements, which range from languid, sunbaked sprawls to the lilting pop of Beg For Love. As a lyricist, she has always excelled in well-observed portraits of heartbreak and dodgy boyfriends, but there’s a new lightness to her work here that makes for particularly good company. Given her unique throat and a gift for a timeless melody, it isn’t at all unfair to mention Traicos in the same breath as equally idiosyncratic artists such as Suzanne Vega, Hope Sandoval or, closer to home, Clare Bowditch. - The Weekly Review

Infectious introspection from a talented young artist

Catherine Traicos’ third album oozes with character and is a strong step forward for her. It’s nice to see that in an age of bombast and protools production that it’s still possible to experience the delicious imperfections of an artist who has something to say. The bite-size length of the songs and Traicos’ Hope Sandoval-meets-Sarah Blasko delivery make for quite the ethereal experience. This is no party record, it’s an honest, artistic catharsis.

Musically, Gloriosa showcases an interesting mix of exotic instruments, and it all works swimmingly for the most part. The relative simplicity of ‘Sing Like a Bird’, for example, is coloured by the use of an electric autoharp, and the vocal melody strays cleverly throughout.

The loungy, hypnotic ‘Australian Sun’ instantly puts you to under the shade of the proverbial Coolibah Tree and lulls you with a gorgeous, if somewhat haunting melody. The honesty of ‘A Stranger’ and the beauty of ‘Magic Water’ are two distinct highlights. None of the tracks here at any stage demand your attention, but they all extend an invitation.

Lyrically, Traicos covers the universal theme of relationships. From her connection to the land, to herself, to the drama with others in the touching ‘A Stranger’ and the single ‘Beg For Love’.

Traicos’ bravery dictates that some tracks will work better than others. Overt Country elements, such as the twangy Pedal Steel guitar in ‘Walk Into The Stars’ detract from an otherwise strong song rather than embellish it. For the most part though, the acoustic guitars prevalent throughout are quite soothing and the Pedal Steel is a highlight of the sad ‘Baby Don’t Cry’.

Traicos is not in a niche yet, which is a good thing. Clearly a talent, one senses that she will continue to experiment musically and vocally into the future as an inspired artist should. Her voice is all about feel rather than precision, and how consistently she gets it right is possibly her greatest achievement on this album.

Gloriosa is an album which should cement Catherine Traicos and The Starry Night as a serious force in Australian music with a bit of luck and a bit of airplay.
Gloriosa deserves your attention, and Traicos and her band are in for a bright future.

Rating: 8/10 stars
- liveguide.com.au

Catherine Traicos introduces her new band, The Starry Night — Darre Nuttall, Kasper Kiely and Tim Day — on her second record, Gloriosa. Named after a visit to flood-stricken Brisbane, where Traicos saw the blossoming of the Gloriosa Superba (Flame Lily) amongst the dirt and destruction, this embodies the essence of this record — from destruction and chaos, beauty can always be born.

Under the talented and guiding hand of five-time ARIA award winner Paul McKercher, this record is a beautifully understated addition to Australian music. Many of the songs on the record play with the idea of sad lyrics with an uplifting melody. Walk Into the Stars melds two songs of opposite feelings — one optimistic, one pessimistic, this track has kept the best of both worlds. Jason Walker's pedal steel guitar gives it a cheerful country twang, but the darkness can be felt on the edge.

Walker's pedal steel guitar allows Baby Don't Cry to expand with The Starry night's pop basics, to a strong country/folk ballad. The emotion in Traicos' delicate vocals create a spine tingling sensation of truth, love and desperation. A Stranger is one of the strongest tracks on the record — the only song that Traicos wrote about the passing of her grandmother that she put on the album. The restrained guitar of McKercher and the rising and falling cello line of Gareth Skinner musically embody the emotional tension of the lyrics.

Gloriosa is a great follow up to Traicos' debut, The AMazing. The Starry Night adds a greater pop influence to her country/folk trends, but does not take over.

Christine Caruana
- Drum Media

Singer-songwriter confessionals of the traditional model. But very good at it. It’s music made with an old-style care - even encouraging you in the credits to find a good stereo on which to listen to it, to fully appreciate the depths of it. With a now settled band, it is crafted stuff, the subtle instrumentation knowing its place cradling her voice. Throw in the expressive pedal steel of the estimable Jason Walker on the ‘B-side, Baby Don’t Cry, and you have something of class beyond its indie status. Shiny.

Ross Clelland
Drum Media
Feb 15 2011
- Drum Media Sydney

Singer-songwriter confessionals of the traditional model. But very good at it. It’s music made with an old-style care - even encouraging you in the credits to find a good stereo on which to listen to it, to fully appreciate the depths of it. With a now settled band, it is crafted stuff, the subtle instrumentation knowing its place cradling her voice. Throw in the expressive pedal steel of the estimable Jason Walker on the ‘B-side, Baby Don’t Cry, and you have something of class beyond its indie status. Shiny.

Ross Clelland
Drum Media
Feb 15 2011
- Drum Media Sydney

"There is a gorgeously fragile quality to Catherine Traicos. Maybe it is testament to what she calls "the countless ex-boyfriends who inspired the songs". Just between us, although I offer my sympathies, I'm also rather glad for the inspiration!

But there is strength, resolution and even transformation present. And even though the subject matter exposes some tender wounds it is impossible to ignore the simple melodies, Catherine's sensual, husky delivery and the loose arrangements that make this a very compelling album.

And if you want an anthem for life, the song The Sweet Life, couldn't be better!"

John Carver,
PBS FM - PBS FM

"There is a gorgeously fragile quality to Catherine Traicos. Maybe it is testament to what she calls "the countless ex-boyfriends who inspired the songs". Just between us, although I offer my sympathies, I'm also rather glad for the inspiration!

But there is strength, resolution and even transformation present. And even though the subject matter exposes some tender wounds it is impossible to ignore the simple melodies, Catherine's sensual, husky delivery and the loose arrangements that make this a very compelling album.

And if you want an anthem for life, the song The Sweet Life, couldn't be better!"

John Carver,
PBS FM - PBS FM

ALBUM OF THE MONTH
Catherine Traicos
The Amazing
(Fuse Music)

The title of the record by this deliciously damaged Sydney roots singer is sarcastic or at least very self-effacing. That’s because in her fragile songs Traicos reveals herself to be not amazing, not in her mind anyway, or at least not in her songs, but rather a young woman on the edge, wavering between sobriety and otherwise, not sure where to turn and who to take the corner with, not sure whether in fact to live on or give up. This is a fine album, her second, redolent in parts of the ragged, eerie estrogen blues of PJ Harvey or the gaunt bluegrass sonnets of Gillian Welch; Traicos is as much obsessed with country and blues as those two huge benchmarks, and also as keen to exorcise her demons via song. Her band – with piano and dobro and organs and cello – is at times almost too shaky and bare. Her voice sometimes as well. But the fact that they’re straining in vain just adds to the power and heightened emotional atmosphere of these confession-box songs.

Chris Johnston
October 2009
- The Melbourne (Age) Magazine

ALBUM OF THE MONTH
Catherine Traicos
The Amazing
(Fuse Music)

The title of the record by this deliciously damaged Sydney roots singer is sarcastic or at least very self-effacing. That’s because in her fragile songs Traicos reveals herself to be not amazing, not in her mind anyway, or at least not in her songs, but rather a young woman on the edge, wavering between sobriety and otherwise, not sure where to turn and who to take the corner with, not sure whether in fact to live on or give up. This is a fine album, her second, redolent in parts of the ragged, eerie estrogen blues of PJ Harvey or the gaunt bluegrass sonnets of Gillian Welch; Traicos is as much obsessed with country and blues as those two huge benchmarks, and also as keen to exorcise her demons via song. Her band – with piano and dobro and organs and cello – is at times almost too shaky and bare. Her voice sometimes as well. But the fact that they’re straining in vain just adds to the power and heightened emotional atmosphere of these confession-box songs.

Chris Johnston
October 2009
- The Melbourne (Age) Magazine

The Amazing is the second album from sultry Sydney songstress Catherine Traicos. Following on from her lovely debut, Gone, in 2008. This record is as forthright and solid a follow up as can possibly be imagined. Quite simply, it has superstar (with integrity) written all over it.

From playful opener 4 For A Boy to epic closer When Are You Coming Home? the veracity of the songwriting and the beauty of the unfussy but richly evocative arrangement is simply breathtaking. Henry F. Skerritt and Emma Frichot, from The Holy Sea, are amongst the Indie who’s who that provides guest spots on the album, adding rather than detracting from Traicos’ fragile, smoky voice. There are heartrending melodies here and lyrics both personal and universal, intelligent and vulnerable, mischievous and deadly serious. The instrumentation is clever and eclectic, featuring vibraphones, cello, glockenspiel and banjo.

Overall, Traicos expertly treads the fine line between artful angst and self-indulgence, channelling the ghosts of PJ Harvey, Gillian Welch and eels, while steadfastly maintaining a musical identity all her own and, most importantly of all perhaps, dancing deliciously and uncompromisingly, though always inclusively, to her own distinct drumbeat.

Thematically, The Amazing deals in large part with the well-worn theme of relationship difficulty, but what the hell, so did Anna Karenina. Traicos is no Tolstoy, at least not yet anyway, but one gets the impression she is the kind of person who reads Sartre while strumming her guitar, and not making a big thing out of it. Intelligence and worldliness drips from every aspect of this record, truly one for the ages, in the most proper sense of the expression. No matter what happens, Traicos is destined for big, honourable things. The Amazing is an important step in that journey – an important record – as well as the heralding of a valuable new talent, and real music fans would be mad not to own it.

- Tony McMahon, Inpress Magazine, Wednesday September 30
- Inpress Magazine

The Amazing is the second album from sultry Sydney songstress Catherine Traicos. Following on from her lovely debut, Gone, in 2008. This record is as forthright and solid a follow up as can possibly be imagined. Quite simply, it has superstar (with integrity) written all over it.

From playful opener 4 For A Boy to epic closer When Are You Coming Home? the veracity of the songwriting and the beauty of the unfussy but richly evocative arrangement is simply breathtaking. Henry F. Skerritt and Emma Frichot, from The Holy Sea, are amongst the Indie who’s who that provides guest spots on the album, adding rather than detracting from Traicos’ fragile, smoky voice. There are heartrending melodies here and lyrics both personal and universal, intelligent and vulnerable, mischievous and deadly serious. The instrumentation is clever and eclectic, featuring vibraphones, cello, glockenspiel and banjo.

Overall, Traicos expertly treads the fine line between artful angst and self-indulgence, channelling the ghosts of PJ Harvey, Gillian Welch and eels, while steadfastly maintaining a musical identity all her own and, most importantly of all perhaps, dancing deliciously and uncompromisingly, though always inclusively, to her own distinct drumbeat.

Thematically, The Amazing deals in large part with the well-worn theme of relationship difficulty, but what the hell, so did Anna Karenina. Traicos is no Tolstoy, at least not yet anyway, but one gets the impression she is the kind of person who reads Sartre while strumming her guitar, and not making a big thing out of it. Intelligence and worldliness drips from every aspect of this record, truly one for the ages, in the most proper sense of the expression. No matter what happens, Traicos is destined for big, honourable things. The Amazing is an important step in that journey – an important record – as well as the heralding of a valuable new talent, and real music fans would be mad not to own it.

- Tony McMahon, Inpress Magazine, Wednesday September 30
- Inpress Magazine

Catherine Traicos
The Amazing (Fuse Music)

It’s hard to recall a time when Australian female singer-songwriters were made so welcome on the airwaves and in the charts. The success of Higgins, Blasko, Bowditch and Chambers has dispensed with the novelty status of chicks on discs. Sydney’s Traicos imitates none of the above in her style but should appeal to many of their followers. As album titles go, The Amazing is a big statement but a worthy one.
Vocally Traicos falls somewhere between Emiliana Torrini and Beth Orton. Her lyrics are clever introspections without falling into clichéd self-indulgence. Songs examine the ever popular themes of lost love and self-doubt. ‘Calm You Down’ is a bewitching standout airing the subjects of ADHD and the ‘black dog’. Even without focusing on the words, the music conveys the moods: humour, melancholy, whimsy and love. ‘Ballad of Last Hopes’ by Perth’s Marcus Taylor is the only cover. ‘A Balcony in Surry Hills’ gets in your head and lingers pleasingly. Pop, folk and country intertwine with caressing harmonies. (Guest vocals from Henry F. Skerritt and Emma Frichot of The Holy Sea.) Core musos are Traicos (guitar, piano) Nick Huggins (dobro, banjo, guitar) Phil Natt (bass) Bree Hartley (drums) and Gareth Skinner (cello). Impressive on all levels.
Chris Lambie Forte Magazine, October 29 2009
- Forte Magazine

Catherine Traicos
The Amazing (Fuse Music)

It’s hard to recall a time when Australian female singer-songwriters were made so welcome on the airwaves and in the charts. The success of Higgins, Blasko, Bowditch and Chambers has dispensed with the novelty status of chicks on discs. Sydney’s Traicos imitates none of the above in her style but should appeal to many of their followers. As album titles go, The Amazing is a big statement but a worthy one.
Vocally Traicos falls somewhere between Emiliana Torrini and Beth Orton. Her lyrics are clever introspections without falling into clichéd self-indulgence. Songs examine the ever popular themes of lost love and self-doubt. ‘Calm You Down’ is a bewitching standout airing the subjects of ADHD and the ‘black dog’. Even without focusing on the words, the music conveys the moods: humour, melancholy, whimsy and love. ‘Ballad of Last Hopes’ by Perth’s Marcus Taylor is the only cover. ‘A Balcony in Surry Hills’ gets in your head and lingers pleasingly. Pop, folk and country intertwine with caressing harmonies. (Guest vocals from Henry F. Skerritt and Emma Frichot of The Holy Sea.) Core musos are Traicos (guitar, piano) Nick Huggins (dobro, banjo, guitar) Phil Natt (bass) Bree Hartley (drums) and Gareth Skinner (cello). Impressive on all levels.
Chris Lambie Forte Magazine, October 29 2009
- Forte Magazine

Catherine Traicos
The Amazing
(Fuse Music Group)

Sydney's Catherine Traicos is dangerously unobtrusive at times on her second album. Slightly husky of voice, minor key musically and somewhere between slow and moody (a la Cowboy Junkies) and intimate folk-pop (a la Beth Orton) she can cast an attractive shadow over the brushed background music. It's what happens in that shadow that isn't always productive. There is occasionally a crack in her voice where the promise of emotions a bit darker show through but not enough yet to sustain the album's 54 minutes. She has the style right; now she just needs to push out of comfortable and into a little more daring.

Bernard Zuel, The Sydney Morning Herald Metro, October 9-15

- The Sydney Morning Herald

Catherine Traicos
The Amazing
(Fuse Music Group)

Sydney's Catherine Traicos is dangerously unobtrusive at times on her second album. Slightly husky of voice, minor key musically and somewhere between slow and moody (a la Cowboy Junkies) and intimate folk-pop (a la Beth Orton) she can cast an attractive shadow over the brushed background music. It's what happens in that shadow that isn't always productive. There is occasionally a crack in her voice where the promise of emotions a bit darker show through but not enough yet to sustain the album's 54 minutes. She has the style right; now she just needs to push out of comfortable and into a little more daring.

Bernard Zuel, The Sydney Morning Herald Metro, October 9-15

- The Sydney Morning Herald

CATHERINE TRAICOS – THE AMAZING

Author:
Aidan Roberts
Posted:
Tuesday, 22 September 2009

At first it seems like an audacious gesture to have an album title as self-congratulatory as this, but when you listen to Catherine Traicos’ second full-length album, it becomes apparent that there is a stroke of irony and perhaps a different context to the use of the word “amazing”. The songs on this album aren’t, as such, amazing; instead, they are slow-burning works of pop art that worm their way into the psyche of the listener, devoid of cheap hooks or wow-factor production. They’re just simple, well-written songs. Catherine’s voice is a smoky thing reminiscent of Cat Power by way of Melanie Kafka, and the crisp analogue production helps to add to the mystery factor, occasionally fooling the listener into a deep nostalgia – at times, she could be mistaken for Grace Slick with the muted soul backing of her band and the haunted reverbs. All the elements are in place here, but with Catherine’s songs there is sometimes a vagueness of melody that belies the smart and direct lyrics, and her fragmented, fragile delivery, while endearing, leaves one wanting the odd ballsy flourish or wild gesture. Still, this is an affecting album, particularly the cooing For A Boy, and devastatingly direct Drunk On Your Breath in which she sings – ‘I’d rather be falling apart on the floor than sitting alone with that recurring thought of ‘damn, but I really liked that one”.

http://www.altmedia.net.au/catherine-traicos-the-amazing/11653
- Alternative Media Group

CATHERINE TRAICOS – THE AMAZING

Author:
Aidan Roberts
Posted:
Tuesday, 22 September 2009

At first it seems like an audacious gesture to have an album title as self-congratulatory as this, but when you listen to Catherine Traicos’ second full-length album, it becomes apparent that there is a stroke of irony and perhaps a different context to the use of the word “amazing”. The songs on this album aren’t, as such, amazing; instead, they are slow-burning works of pop art that worm their way into the psyche of the listener, devoid of cheap hooks or wow-factor production. They’re just simple, well-written songs. Catherine’s voice is a smoky thing reminiscent of Cat Power by way of Melanie Kafka, and the crisp analogue production helps to add to the mystery factor, occasionally fooling the listener into a deep nostalgia – at times, she could be mistaken for Grace Slick with the muted soul backing of her band and the haunted reverbs. All the elements are in place here, but with Catherine’s songs there is sometimes a vagueness of melody that belies the smart and direct lyrics, and her fragmented, fragile delivery, while endearing, leaves one wanting the odd ballsy flourish or wild gesture. Still, this is an affecting album, particularly the cooing For A Boy, and devastatingly direct Drunk On Your Breath in which she sings – ‘I’d rather be falling apart on the floor than sitting alone with that recurring thought of ‘damn, but I really liked that one”.

http://www.altmedia.net.au/catherine-traicos-the-amazing/11653
- Alternative Media Group

I know, I know. Romanticism is dead, right? The era of the god-like artistic genius gracing us with his or her presence and raining down wisdom on us mere mortals is apparently long gone. I get it. It’s all intertextuality now and the audience is part of the experience of the art and there’s nothing new in the zoo and all the rest of that postmodern hokum. Don’t get me wrong, this writer likes his Derrida and Bakhtin as much as the next punter, but maybe sometimes, just sometimes – like when seeing Billy Holiday live for the first time, as an example – it would be nice to be able to place yourself in the hands of genuine artist and simply let go. This happens so rarely now, but this is exactly the deal at The Empress Of India in the presence of Catherine Traicos for the launch of her stunning new album, The Amazing.
The instant Traicos strums her guitar, we know she means it. There is just something so poignant about the pitch of her sound. When her voice rings out in the small, intimate room, conversation stops dead and the chirpy noise becomes something like the silence after an explosion. By the end of the opening track, she has me. Cold. I’m hers. Anything she wants from me, she’s got, and I suspect I am not alone. Her lyrics are universal yet hauntingly fresh: intelligent and spunky, literary and unpretentious. Her voice is ethereal and fragile, yet has moments where it is so strong it can rip your guts out. The music matters so much to her it becomes a physical sensation for us.
In Oliver Stone’s film, The Doors, there is a scene where the fledgling band are performing The End for the first time. Go-go dancers stops gyrating, hardcore nightclub owner/gangster types stop their shady dealings and watch, entirely transfixed. There is a similar moment here tonight during Traicos’ penultimate number Ballad Of Last Hopes. Bar staff, diners and blow-ins all pay the semi-genius in their presence the ultimate compliment by stopping what it is they’re doing and launching involuntarily into surely one of the biggest stunned mullet routines this quiet North Fitzroy pub has ever seen. Three encores follow.
Traicos does one more show in Melbourne, an in store at Pure Pop Records the next day, and then, in my now quite fevered imagination, flits off back to her native Sydney, where obscurity entirely incommensurate with her incredible talent awaits her. In the tradition of romantic poets everywhere, both living, dead and half way between, I therefore nominate myself as figurehead, sole office bearer and general dogsbody of the Move Catherine Traicos To Melbourne Committee c/o The Union Hotel, crn. Webb and Gore Streets, Fitzroy, 3065. Buy a copy of The Amazing or see her live next time she’s here and you will be joining me.

Tony McMahon, Inpress Magazine, October 14 2009 - Inpress Magazine

I know, I know. Romanticism is dead, right? The era of the god-like artistic genius gracing us with his or her presence and raining down wisdom on us mere mortals is apparently long gone. I get it. It’s all intertextuality now and the audience is part of the experience of the art and there’s nothing new in the zoo and all the rest of that postmodern hokum. Don’t get me wrong, this writer likes his Derrida and Bakhtin as much as the next punter, but maybe sometimes, just sometimes – like when seeing Billy Holiday live for the first time, as an example – it would be nice to be able to place yourself in the hands of genuine artist and simply let go. This happens so rarely now, but this is exactly the deal at The Empress Of India in the presence of Catherine Traicos for the launch of her stunning new album, The Amazing.
The instant Traicos strums her guitar, we know she means it. There is just something so poignant about the pitch of her sound. When her voice rings out in the small, intimate room, conversation stops dead and the chirpy noise becomes something like the silence after an explosion. By the end of the opening track, she has me. Cold. I’m hers. Anything she wants from me, she’s got, and I suspect I am not alone. Her lyrics are universal yet hauntingly fresh: intelligent and spunky, literary and unpretentious. Her voice is ethereal and fragile, yet has moments where it is so strong it can rip your guts out. The music matters so much to her it becomes a physical sensation for us.
In Oliver Stone’s film, The Doors, there is a scene where the fledgling band are performing The End for the first time. Go-go dancers stops gyrating, hardcore nightclub owner/gangster types stop their shady dealings and watch, entirely transfixed. There is a similar moment here tonight during Traicos’ penultimate number Ballad Of Last Hopes. Bar staff, diners and blow-ins all pay the semi-genius in their presence the ultimate compliment by stopping what it is they’re doing and launching involuntarily into surely one of the biggest stunned mullet routines this quiet North Fitzroy pub has ever seen. Three encores follow.
Traicos does one more show in Melbourne, an in store at Pure Pop Records the next day, and then, in my now quite fevered imagination, flits off back to her native Sydney, where obscurity entirely incommensurate with her incredible talent awaits her. In the tradition of romantic poets everywhere, both living, dead and half way between, I therefore nominate myself as figurehead, sole office bearer and general dogsbody of the Move Catherine Traicos To Melbourne Committee c/o The Union Hotel, crn. Webb and Gore Streets, Fitzroy, 3065. Buy a copy of The Amazing or see her live next time she’s here and you will be joining me.

Tony McMahon, Inpress Magazine, October 14 2009 - Inpress Magazine

If vocals reminiscent of Beth Orton gets your sausage sizzling, and you’re in to some gentle country with top lyrical construction, give this amazing disc a red hot go. Gently rhythmic, this release gets under your skin with such subtlety that the resulting itch propels you to listen and listen and then give it a few more spins.

4 stars

Jenny O’Keefe - Cherrie Magazine

Drunk On Your Breath

Catherine sits you down on the lounge, and tells you everything she wants, pouring it out honestly and quietly. It’s beguiling and can be devastating all at once. Somehow, it remains a pop song that leaves bits in your head. The second song on this, the simply titled Cry refines the approach even more – there’s a touch of old movie musical or perhaps the song closing a night at the music hall. Part of me wants to see her live, but possibly doesn’t want to share such a conversation in company. Intriguing. It is.

Drum Sydney - January 26 - Drum Sydney