Ned Collette - Old Chestnut (2018)

It Records is proud to release the stunning new double album from Melbourne/Berlin singer-songwriter Ned Collette: Old Chestnut. A truly accomplished work, a gorgeous dark folk opus, fleshed out in lush but precise and sparkling instrumentation thanks to a band of extraordinary collaborators. Featuring regular Wirewalker cohorts Joe Talia (who also co-produced the album with Collette) and Ben Bourke, plus Alexander Garsden, cellist Anthea Caddy, and piano from The Necks' Chris Abrahams on the album's monolithic centrepiece, 'June'. Ned says that Old Chestnut is the first album he has made that 'feels like the albums I always wanted to make'. It's just messy enough, elaborate enough, simple enough, improvised and collaborative enough' and it does feel like Old Chestnut is an elevation, and that with it, he has attained a level of songcraft that transcends his already impressive back catalogue. With snippets written as far back as 2008 and 4 years since his last album release, it's been a long journey. The resultant work is cohesive and articulate in a way few albums are. A mixture of melancholy balladry interwoven with daedal and often delicate instrumentals that not only frame and anchor the 'songs' but beautifully showcase the calibre of Collette's arrangements and musicianship. This is the record that will etch the name Ned Collette into the lexicon of great Australian songwriters.