Sydney songwriter Taryn La Fauci takes a restrained and intimate approach on her debut album Cycling. She lays herself – her thoughts and emotions – bare on ten songs that have a folk feel in the acoustic instrumentation, paired with a classic singer/songwriter mood.

Nothing threatens, with soft electric guitar shimmers, shuffling drums and a wistful sheen to her songwriting. Vocally, La Fauci possesses a sweet melancholic tone which is a little too mannered and pure sounding to convey the emotional weight she’s clearly invested in these songs, especially when paired only with skeletal acoustic guitar.

The layered arrangement on Lay Down To Rest and the livelier band sound on Get There and Whispers On The Wind show promise and suggest a fuller sound best complements her voice.

Chris Familton