Album Review: Mia Dyson - If I Said Only So Far I Take It Back

It's been almost a decade since Australian singer-songwriter Mia Dyson decamped to America and started carving out a foothold in that toughest of landscapes.

Now she's doubled down on her long-held fascination with the States' rich musical heritage by recording her sixth album at Portside Sound in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and roping in not only Alabama Shakes keyboardist Ben Tanner to produce (alongside Dyson's longstanding drummer Erin Sidney) but also figures like legendary local bassist David Hood and former The Civil Wars mainstay John Paul White to bring her vision to life.

The resulting collection is both sonically stripped-back and wilfully diverse, southern rock tones pulsing through tunes like sultry rocker Nothing and the beautifully discordant Open, while an '80s classic rock vibe permeates catchy single Fool and the slow-building Whole Is The Bleeding Heart. Up-tempo toe-tapper Diamonds betrays Dyson's guitar-slinger background, while she exhibits welcome vulnerability on emotive opener Being Scared, affirming opus Gambling and the meandering, introspective I Defy You. Uplifting torch song Everything Is Waiting For You brings it all home, confirming that Dyson's newly minted lyrical partnership with husband Karl Linder has really paid dividends in terms of emotional intensity.