“Love is not simple – it’s complex and undefined,” sings Melbourne’s Gena Rose Bruce on her second album, Deep is the Way. The impossibility and inexorability of love in all its guises is central to her songwriting – and while it’s well-worn territory, her wry, observational style makes it feel new. “Am I just pouring heart-shaped coffee for someone who wanted a gin?” she wonders on lead single Foolishly in Love. The taste, bitter and surprising, lingers.
I’ve long called Bruce Australia’s answer to Angel Olsen, and the comparison holds true on this thoughtful record. Both are purveyors of a certain kind of melancholic, country-tinged blend of indie and alternative music, underpinned by emotional vulnerability and intelligence. It can be hard to cut through the noise of an ever-growing cohort of musicians in this vein, but Bruce’s sharp, honest songwriting stands out by pushing beyond genre conventions and largely avoiding cliche. The album opens with Future, on which she alternates between whispering the lyrics and, sometimes moments later, using the highest part of her versatile register. These vocal acrobatics, pulled off effortlessly, are part of what makes her music so compelling.
