NSW songwriter Josie Laver‘s debut single ‘Tangled’, written with Matt Joe Gow is an impressive calling card of a song. Richly warm and evocative it swings and rolls along with a blues-infused country dreaminess. Heavy-lidded and sultry, it revolves around feelings of low self esteem, damage or trauma and talks about pushing those feelings aside, just for the night, and enjoying what you have right in front of you. 

What impresses me most about the song is the way Laver wraps her voice around her lyrics. A curled lip and a sweet slur allow her to shape some wonderful winding melodies akin to a slow dance on a warm summer’s night.

Perfectly paced and featuring some sublime fiddle playing, the song comes from a forthcoming Gow-produced album from Laver, who by day runs sheep and cattle on her family’s farm in the broad high plains of southern New South Wales near Boorowa. By night, she sings, plays guitar and writes songs of love and heartbreak. 

The Andrew Barnes-directed video evocatively captures both the intimacy of the song and the beautiful expanse of the high plains.