Nirvana Nights

A storyteller at heart with the voice of an angel, Leah Flanagan can also wield a mean ukelele. As hometown Darwin locals will attest, she's been playing original songs to passionate acclaim since she could swing a tune, and is the darling of the tropical north. But the rest of the world is quickly catching on... In between touring with the Black Arm Band collective (who will share the stage with Sinead O'Connor, Rickie Lee Jones and Gurrumul Yunupingu at the Melbourne Festival this year), appearing at the Popkomm Festival in Berlin, Woodford, Adelaide Fringe or wherever else she's in demand - Leah Flanagan has managed to travel to Melbourne to record her second album. Nirvana Nights, is named after a small, defiantly seedy bar in Darwin where everybody plays. The album is a beautifully recorded document of Northern (Australian) soul, with full-blooded melodies, and Flanagan's divine voice - at times channeling Shirley Bassey, at others Lucinda Williams - supported by a procession of Melbourne's finest players - Liz Stringer (who wrote 'Innocent Hearts' for the album), Harry Angus, Emily Lubitz, Grant Cummerford, Matt Earl, Netanela Mizrahi and Mel Robinson. Produced by Steven Schram (The Cat Empire/Little Birdy/Custom Kings) Nirvana Nights is a robust interpretation of her onstage persona - vividly human, quiet but possessed of a formidable strength and artistry. Bristling with gorgeous melodies and the kind of wry swing you might suspect of Lily Allen or Jolie Holland, there's also the off-kilter catch of Martha Wainwright's emotional torrent in Flanagan's powerful delivery.