A New Day Has Come (2024) – Kasey Chambers

My favourite Australian country artist is back. I’ve been following Kasey Chambers since her 2002 breakout record Barricades and Brickwalls, which still sits comfortably in my top five Australian albums. I’ve seen her live in Melbourne, and her music has featured here often.

Kasey is so dinky-di Aussie that, as a young’un, she and her family travelled across the Nullarbor Plain while her parents hunted foxes and rabbits for pelts. They did this seven or eight months each year, for nearly a decade. Her parents formed a band and added first Kasey and then brother Nash to their act, which became the Dead Ringer Band – named for the children looking like their parents.

There’s a story I never tire of retelling – apologies to anyone who’s heard it before. I remember exactly when and where I first heard Kasey’s music. It was a hot summer day in 2002, and I was driving through Crib Point on my way to Hastings in South East Victoria. I flicked on ABC Radio – always a haven for great non-commercial music like the Go-Betweens – and this song came on that stopped me in my tracks. I’ve been a fan ever since.

To even quote Kasey about hearing her own song: ‘Back then it was f—ing weird to hear [her first No.1 hit in 2002] Not Pretty Enough on the radio‘. “I remember even hearing it sometimes, where they would play Britney Spears and then play Not Pretty Enough, and I would go, ‘F—, this is weird‘.”

Last year I showcased Kasey’ Chambers’ charming and wistful ode to Bruce Springsteen – A Love Like Springsteen from her latest record Backbone. Yesterday morning I listened to more music from that record and no point sugar coating it – I was blown away. So much so, I was wondering which song I would immediately present here. It was a toss up really, so I went with A New Day Has Come. Suffice it to say, more songs from Backbone will be making their way here soon.

I mentioned in my previous post how much I like the way Kasey’s voice has matured and settled into itself, and that’s especially true of today’s featured song. On her early albums, you could sometimes hear her leaning a little too hard into that vulnerability and ache, almost trying to will an emotion into the listener. But not here. This is Kasey sounding as authentic and weather-worn country as she’s ever been – and the music matches her. She’s cited Townes Van Zandt, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle as key touchstones, and you can hear all of them echoing through this one track – including even her North American country twang.

[Verse 1]
When the road has gone dark
I’ll shine on your trail and show you the way
When the river runs dry
I’ll pray for the rain to wash away your pain
And if you get lost
I’ll lead you back home, won’t leave you alone
When the wind blows
From right where you stand, come take my hand

[Chorus]
I’ll be your pilgrim, I’ll walk through the canyon
I’ll rise up each day like the sun
I’ll be your anchor, tied to the harbour
As the light of the dawn has begun
We are the morning
A new day has come

[Verse 2]
When the valley runs deep
I’ll carry you through, you know that it’s true
When the mountain’s too high
Just rest on my back, I’ll give all that I have
And if you let go
I’ll stand where I am to catch you again
When it’s tumbling down
From under your feet, just lean down on me

References:
1. Kasey Chambers: ‘I’ve definitely learnt to say no a lot more’ – The Sydney morning Herald

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand