Missy Higgin’s On a Clear Night. 2007
A pleasant discovery for me a couple of years ago, the music of Missy Higgins continues to impress. I first heard her on my pandora.com account, and just picked up one of her CDs. Her warmth, intelligence, and vulnerability flow with every song, and her beautiful vocals resonate long after the song has worked its way into the night. I love her accent. I love that she never felt the need to hide her Aussie background. It makes her seem defiant to me, a sweet rebel, which is strange in a sense. Because she’s just being herself. My guess is that many in the biz told her not to sing with her own, natural accent, but she didn’t listen, and it makes her music better.
Missy Higgins writes her own music and lyrics, and has told interviewers that she’d rather write songs than sing them, if she had to choose. She does both exceptionally well. But her vocals are what hit me. Her breathing is natural but fills her voice with just the right lift of air, coming from just the right part of her soul. Not every singer can do that or knows what that does for the song. She has told other interviewers that she listened to a lot of great Jazz singers in the past, like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and I’m guessing she discovered that from them.
I hear several other singers touching upon her sound. Though she is unique. Fiona Apple, Sara Bareilles and Brandi Carlile, especially. Secrets used to be undercover. Not so much anymore. Which is très cool.
Secret
