Sydney singer-songwriter Sarah Blaso picked up her second ARIA Award for this album last year (she won her first for 2007 sophomore album What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have), and it was richly deserved. Produced by Bjorn Yttling (of Peter, Bjorn & John fame) and recorded in a Stolkholm studio once frequented by ABBA, As Day Follows Night is something of a departure for Blasko.
While her themes are almost exclusively concerned with love and heartache, there’s a laid back, unplugged and almost jazzy feel to the whole album. Featuring strings, brass, banjo, double bass and percussion, Blasko’s bewitching vocals are achingly melancholic but still somehow warm and hopeful on these bold, beguiling pop songs. There are some surprises, too – notably the vaudevillian ‘Hold On My Heart’ and the flamenco stylings of ‘Is My Baby Yours’.
All told, a truly beautiful album from a female singer-songwriter less ordinary.