The Fearless Note by John Shand

SEE John Shand of the Sydney Morning Herald's Review  

https://www.johnshand.com.au/kavisha-mazzella/

7/10

kavisha reshttps://johnshand.com.au/wp-content/uploads/kavisha-res-300x266.jpg 300w, https://johnshand.com.au/wp-content/uploads/kavisha-res-180x160.jpg 180w" sizes="(max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; max-width: calc(100% - 48px); line-height: 0; border: none; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em 1.5em;">Recorded live in Melbourne, The Fearless Note catches such a strong sensation of intimacy that it is if Kavisha Mazzella is singing for your ears alone. This is crucial, because it ensures you are drawn into the dream worlds of her lyrics: hazes of words that suddenly snap into focus and impale you on a thought, a sentiment or a memory. Often they contain observations from her travels, so the effect is like images drifting past a rainy train window, although she can also lighten the mood with a song like Philosophy Man (“I’m in love with a philosophy man who cannot fix my car”).

Mazzella’s voice has an edge of drama even at its softest, and when she really sings out it can be storming or exultant. Her melodies are predictable, but not in a negative sense: rather they sweep you along on a tide of vague familiarity, even if the accuracy of her pitch quavers on some notes. She accompanies herself on acoustic guitar, while Matthew Arnold wreathes pretty violin lines into the songs.