It’s the wailing harmonica, thunder-like drums and harmonised “woo’s” that grab you initially. The opening bars of ‘
Run Boy
‘ transport you; they gently place a headdress made of feathers upon your crown and send you into a field. The field is covered in beautiful purple flowers and the sky is a catch your breath blue. Standing in the middle of the field is
Kaurna Cronin
; armed with an acoustic guitar and a crooked grin.
As you wander through the field, you stumble upon a handful of other people, and a handful of other songs. You cruise along, stopping now and then to appreciate the glorious open sky. Your ears are filled with the sound of a harmonica, an ambling bass, delightful percussion, and a combination of husky and delicate voices. You can’t help but smile.
‘ Fearless ‘ makes you grin the most; causes you to twirl around and laugh out loud. You watch in awe as Kaurna and his friends; Dom Symes, Mitch Waugh, Nick Bastiras and Delia Obst – weave their magic; create this upbeat, folky song. You catch onto the chorus – sing, “I need to notice cause I’m not fearless, nobodies fearless & don’t say it ain’t true.”
The adventure continues. It seems as though the sunshine is pouring from the sky. You realise that there’s more folky goodness to come…especially now that Kaurna and friends have begun playing another song. There’s a certain darkness; a depth. It’s in the bass and rumbling drums. You’re enchanted, imagining what it means to be shot with ‘ Pistol Eyes .’ As you’re listening, words form in your head. They go like this, “All the animals looked at the jungle and were simultaneously in awe, the canopy of sounds was too much for then, so in stunned silence, they all shut their eyes and experienced pistol eyes.*” You aren’t sure what these words mean, but you love them.
It’s funny that you’re thinking of love, because the next song is an extension on that very theme. You decide to lay down in the field; to close your eyes gently and to let the music wash over you. Kaurna and Delia sing in a higher register and you smile quietly at the sound of the xylophone … Everyone starts singing and there is this beautiful innocence to it all. You learn that this song is called ‘ Lover Lie ‘ and you connect with the lines, “I thought bravery was touch, I soon learnt that was not enough…I wish walls would never exist, we can’t change this.”It’s a much softer song, compared to those that have come before.
The sun is beginning to set – slowly, but surely. You remain on your back, arms outstretched. This whole experience is incredibly soothing. You’re impressed – not only by the maturity of the lyrics, but the maturity of the sound. It’s so nice to listen to songs that are actually about something. About love and traveling and lies – real, tangible things. They’re performed with such talent, as well.
As you’re laying there with the blades of grass softly caressing your elbows and ankles, you listen to Kaurna and Delia sing. You feel like you truly understand the chorus. “Don’t go waste your precious time on me, don’t waste your precious time on me…” It’s a sentiment you’d never really thought of before, but now, it makes so much sense. You delight in hearing that wailing harmonica again, and in hearing everyone singing; a capella. The drumming puts you in mind of Angus and Julia Stone - of something you might hear in one of their earlier songs; say ‘ Mango Tree ‘ or ‘ Fooled Myself .’ Making this connection causes you to smile once more. Folky goodness, indeed.
You get a sense that this beautiful afternoon may soon be over and so you take a deep breath, open your eyes and stand to your feet. The sky is orange now and fairy lights have magically appeared. Kaurna and the band are playing their very last song – ’ Stockholm ‘ - and you sway gently. There’s that harmonica again as well as the xylophone. Dom is weaving his fingers up and down the bass guitar. Kaurna is singing, “…I’d trade anything for home,” and you wish you could relate to this, but you really would like to stay in this field for a bit longer, especially now that there are fairy lights. You close your eyes again, just for the last few seconds of the song, and, when you open them again, you are standing alone in your bedroom. You catch your reflection in the mirror and you smile at the feather headdress resting upon your crown.
*quote was actually written by Dom Symes
REVIEW BY GRACE GOODFELLOW
WORDS BY Grace Goodfellow
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