Live review from Sonic Showcase:
1. beaches
2. awake
3. journeyer
4. start over
5. hopeless
6. true blue
7. what happens happens
At just 17 years old, it’s already clear Zoe Haynes has all the tools to succeed as a singer-songwriter of note – that classic combo of strong songs, relatable lyrics and an emotive delivery that have made the world swoon since Joni Mitchell et al first picked up an acoustic guitar.
The Hong Kong-raised teen has an intuitive ear for natural, easy chord sequences that offer few surprises, but roll satisfyingly together, pointing in new directions just when the ear is exhausted. Lower-register, confessional verses evolve into brief bridges and higher, cathartic choruses with a seamless design. Which would mean nothing without a strong performance: on stage Haynes appears warm but commanding, both content to share the scrapbooks of her diary yet presiding over the proceedings with assured authority. Indeed, following a kids’ theatre production onstage at the AIA Carnival community stage was the most Spinal Tap of bookings, but Haynes navigated it with ease (and brought a gaggle of fans to boot).
“I don’t normally write a lot of love songs, but this one has a special place in my heart,” she declares, introducing “True Blue”, a tale of frustrated teen romance and anxieties about making the first move. Another standout, “Start Over”, exists again in that same emotional no man’s land – sentimental but not quite sad, sun-kissed but far from content. The lyrics will make or break this music: lines like “In a taxi backseat, I see your phone”, from set opener “Beaches”, are the kind of hyper-personal but instantly universal vignettes that unite a generation.
“Hopeless” was built around a pleasing sequence of suspended chords which sounded somewhat familiar, while closer “What Happens Happens” opened with a brief barrage of fingerpicking. Otherwise, there wasn’t always much to tell these uniformly mid-tempo, strummed acoustic folk ditties apart. This won’t be a problem when it comes to the studio, when textures and dynamics will no doubt be worked into the arrangements. That debut recording will have to wait, however, until this most promising talent completes their high-school IB exams.
– Rob Garratt
