If prejudicial barriers against country music go up on hearing the first couple of songs on this two CD live performance, I strongly urge you to hang in there. If these two very talented performers do not win you over, regardless of your musical bias, I would be very surprised. The concert is a delightfully refreshing, musical experience.

Singer/songwriter Audrey Auld Mezera, now living in northern California, is Australian. After listening to the CDs I felt there was a certain irony in the fact that, as an Australian, I really knew more about her American collaborator in this musical venture. I was familiar with Nina Gerber’s superb guitar and mandolin playing on the late Kate Wolf’s recordings and more recently on Greg Brown’s collection of live performances from Kate Wolf Music Festivals. I had heard a couple of Audrey’s songs during a radio interview a number of years ago and that was unfortunately the sum total of my acquaintance with her music. I say ‘unfortunately’ because after listening to this concert recording, I now realise what I have been missing.

This double CD concert recording showcases the songwriting talents of Audrey Auld Mezera. She has a definite flair when it comes to the self deprecating song about life’s low points (eg I’d Leave Me Too and Drinking Problem). Her humour and positive take on such subjects is refreshingly engaging. Losing Faith (which recently won her a songwriting award) is a strong, confronting song, full of biblical imagery. Two standout songs for me are her beautifully moving love song Love You Like The Earth, with its very memorable melody, and Half A World Away, which is about homesickness. There are some fine interpretations of other songwriters’ works including songs by Patty Griffin, Mary Gauthier and Fred Eaglesmith.

Gerber’s wonderful, sensitive guitar playing is further highlighted by the inclusion of three instrumentals, including a beautiful interpretation of John Lennon’s Imagine. Her ability on both acoustic and electric guitar and her proficiency in a variety of guitar styles enhance the listening experience. During the concert we are informed that this is Audrey and Nina’s second public performance together. Nina’s seeming familiarity with Audrey’s songs and the enrichment her thoughtful playing brings to them are quite amazing.

There is just enough appropriate dialogue between songs and Audrey Auld Mezera’s infectious giggle delightfully peppers her passionate, assured and engaging vocal performance. This is a refreshingly honest recording, with both performers firing off each other to reach those magical heights which live performances can sometimes attain. Thoroughly recommended listening.
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“She writes and sings songs with a worldly truth... She not only sounds like she grew up on Music Row in Nashville, but she writes the kinds of songs that built Music Row in the first place.

’In The House’ is a document of pure fluidity.  Second to Mezera’s songwriting is her expressionistic phrasing, something that Lucinda Williams and Patty Griffin share.  When she sings that “you’d leave me stra-a-nded” it feels as if her entire body were supported by tiny twigs, each slowly starting to crack.  When this delicacy is augmented by Gerber’s sprawling atmosphere of arpeggios, absolute chemistry is at play.”
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