Lisa Mitchell - Spiritus

On the 27^th of March, Lisa Mitchell released “Spiritus”, the first single from her upcoming, unnamed album. It is Lisa’s first new release since her Australian Music Prize winning album, Wonder, in 2009.

Again working with producer Dann Hume, Spiritus is remindful of Wonder’s characteristic structure; bell tones layered on jangling piano on a base of warm, rolling, mid tempo percussion. Above this Lisa mixes her distinctive gentle tone, full of her individual, stylistic inflections with a previously unheard alternative style. The simple melody helps bring motif to the short verse chorus structure. Perhaps Spiritus’s weakest and strongest point is the unusual throaty elongated cries that are used as counterpoint to Lisa’s traditional singing style. Reminiscent of a Bjork eccentricity, these melismatic phrases stand out like misshapen mountains in a sea of subtlety. They are ear catching, defined and slightly offensive while not entirely unpleasant.

Beyond this Spiritus is punctuated by a distant chorus of “Won’t forget you, won’t forget you” which contrasts the foregrounded main vocals and serves to fill the white space in the mid frequencies between verses. The music captures the overarching theme of resilience in the face of loss epitomized by the build from the sullen line “Heart is lost” to the jubilant “And my love shines on” at the end of the chorus.

Lisa has successfully delivered a track of quality comparable to that of Wonder with delivering the heart-warming sincerity which has come to define her music. Uplifting and whimsical Spiritus bodes well for the yet to be announced album release.