Playing is safe was not an option for Jordan Wilson and Ben Riley, the Sydney-born, now Melbourne-based duo Georgia Fair. After spending much of 2012 recording demos in Mangrove Mountain, the pair packed their bags, LA bound, where they would meet with Ted Hutt (Gaslight Anthem, Old Crow Medicine Show, Dropkick Murphys) to work on a fresh batch of tunes that would both brandish and embellish the Georgia Fair sound… Trapped Flame was born.
Shaking off the acoustic indie/folk sound of debut LP, All Through Winter, and ramping up the production with a matured approach, Trapped Flame takes elements of folk, blues, pop, country and rock to create a blended concoction full of unrelenting charm. Opening with the ever so catchy balladry of ‘Gloria’, a track that really springs to life in the chorus, with rasping vocals, infectious rhythm and whirling riff. ‘Love Free Me’ brings an anthemic feel, with self-encouraging, soul searching lyric “Cause’ I’m love / And I’m free / And I’m Me.” Not to be confused with some sort of egotistic cliché… the whole album plays on a pursuit of identity with limited use of metaphor.
By ‘Coming Back’, a tender, somber atmosphere is created, with earthy vocal and melodic flow, it’s a very heartfelt, reflective affair. Proving contagiously upbeat, ‘We Are Not Alive’, gleaming with sun-drenched harmonies, gentle strums and catchy chorus making for the perfect summertime groove.
Taking a turn for the sultry, the aptly titled ‘Fiery Night’ brims with a gritty blues notion… as Jordan Wilson’s husky vocal chimes “They would walking out into the evening / unaware of all the doldrums / that were waiting…” before launching into the harmonic chorus “All that she ever wanted / to be taken / on the table / on the table.”
‘Old Friend’ and ‘The River’ take down the pace once again, revealing the return of soothing acoustics… this is the closest the album gets to channeling the previous works of Georgia Fair. Overall it’s fair to say (no pun intended) that this album delineates a coming of age.
Depicting a journey that has quite evidently coloured the works of the duo… allowing them to refurbish their sound without loosing their core foundation; a collection of songs that will undoubtedly assemble a new crowd of Georgia Fair fans, as well as satisfy the previous long-time aficionado’s.
8.5/10
Reviewer: Chloe Webb