Album review: Queen of Boomtown by Gretta Ziller

Victorian singer-songwriter Gretta Ziller released her first EP, Hell's Half Acre, in late 2014. There was great talent, and great promise, in it - and, consequently, her fans (including me) have had an impatient wait for her first album, Queen of Boomtown. The wait has been worth it, not that there was much doubt: the talent and promise of Hell's Half Acre were not of the fleeting kind.

On Queen of Boomtown Ziller has resisted making another version of Hell's Half Acre. The songs on both are distinctively hers, but the album is a progression. These songs are the work of someone with more life behind her - more wistfulness, by the sound of it, and perhaps some cynicism that gives her voice even more of a knowing tone than it had before. And what a voice it is: Ziller has long sounded like she could emit the battle cry of an outlaw queen and follow it with a torch song, and that mix of mellow tone and strident edge is even better balanced on this album.

There is some melancholy on this album, most notably in 'This is Gonna Hurt' and 'Alright with Me', but that is not the predominant tone, for even 'Go On', which could be a song about a broken heart, is more about independence and self-determination. The lyrics of the title track could suggest hard times but no one could really call herself a queen if she wasn't feeling something close to assured about what she's doing. And Ziller does sound assured throughout this album - as well she should. These songs are great stories and musically wonderful, and at the centre of it all is Ziller's majestic voice and her commanding presence, which is clear in each note. This may be a debut album but Ziller doesn't sound like a beginner. If this were a third or sixth album she could be proud of it - for a debut, well, let's just say it sounds a lot like a queen claiming her throne.

Queen of Boomtown is out now from Social Family Records.
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Single release: 'Slaughterhouse Blues' by Gretta Ziller

In 2014 Victorian singer-songwriter Gretta Ziller released the excellent EP Hell's Half Acre and announced herself as a dynamic new talent in Australian country music. While her fans (including me) were probably impatient for new music, Ziller has only recently completed her debut album, Queen of Boomtown, which will be released on 1 September by Social Family Records.

The first single from that album is 'Slaughterhouse Blues', and you can watch the video - shot in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg - below and buy the song on .

grettaziller.com

Gretta Ziller is on the hunt for ... a new album

Gretta Ziller's debut EP, Hell's Half Acre, which opens with a cracker of a track, 'Hunt for Love'. Now Gretta is on the the hunt for Pozible sponsors so she can create her first album. If the LP merely produces ten songs of the same standard as the songs on the EP, it will be fantastic, but there's every chance Gretta will do more than that.

One of the great things about crowd-funding campaigns for albums is that it's essentially just a pre-order - so you know you'll get something tangible at the end of the process.

Support Gretta's Pozible campaign here.

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EP review: Hell's Half Acre by Gretta Ziller

Since releasing her EP, Hell's Half Acre, Victorian Gretta Ziller has become a finalist in the 2015 Toyota Star Maker competition, which reaches its conclusion each year during the Tamworth Country Music Festival. If the EP is anything to go by - and, of course, it is - Ziller belongs there. Her songs are developed, even if the emotions they express are raw; her voice is the right balance of polished, commanding and explosive, and her songs are modern while evoking hard-worn trails over cold southern mountains and nights spent wishing for a warm bed and a warmer embrace.

The opening track, 'Hunt for Love', is the siren song of a woman who knows her mind and is determined to get what she wants, on her terms. She might describe herself as a 'little lady' but this usage seems ironic. The title track, 'Hell's Half Acre', sounds like a battle song born of ennui and the desire for a better life. The other three songs on the EP are just as interesting - and mostly in minor keys - and mark Ziller as an artist to watch. She describes herself as 'alt country' but she fits right within the musical and storytelling traditions of country music. Increasingly, that 'alt' seems to be standing for 'Australian' - there are so many outstanding Australian artists who are taking those country traditions from their own and other lands, and using them to craft songs that aren't like anything emerging from any other country music scene. Ziller is a great example of what makes alt/Australian country so interesting and vibrant; whether or not she wins Star Maker will not change that.

Hell's Half Acre is out now. Gretta Ziller is playing several shows at Tamworth 2015. For details on the shows and to buy the EP, visit grettaziller.com.