Album Review: I Remember You

I Remember You is the recently released collaborative offering from multi award winning Americana/Folk duo Matt Joe Gow & Kerryn Fields. Over ten delightful songs, this record weaves stories of loss and love together with a strong sense of connection to the places they call home.

Matt Joe Gow has a warm and powerful voice with an alt-rock vibe which complements Kerryn Field’s crystalline folk style. I particularly enjoy duets such as Your Heart Of Gold and Black Sand which showcase their voices beautifully as they trade verses and harmonise their way through poetic lyric.

No Trace is my personal favourite on the album; a poignant song with gorgeous harmonies and Kerryn’s incredible vocals which hearken back to folk singers of old. Her voice is both strong and vulnerable, and her delivery of emotion is flawless. The birdlike trill that comes from Kerryn’s mouth at times is a rare treat.

There’s a real blend of musicality in I Remember You, going from folk to bluegrass to Elvis-esque alt country at times. All in all, Americana goodness. Acoustic guitars and mandolin with strings and percussion create the musical bed for their voices to land on, while harmonica occasionally flies.

One of the loveliest arrangements in this album, is their exquisite cover of Sir Dave Dobbyn’s It Dawned On Me, which Kerryn cheekily introduces in concert as her ‘Uncle Dave’s song’. I hope he has heard it or hears it soon – it’s mind-blowing to me the impact music can have. 30 years after being written, new life breathes through a song, and off it goes again. What a legacy.

Over the past year, Kerryn Fields says she and Matt Joe Gow have played over fifty shows and featured at major festivals on both sides of the Tasman, touring while writing the songs and then often taking them immediately to the stage (or live on radio!).

I had the pleasure of hearing them at two of those shows, and again at a house concert hosted by Roger Bowie last December. What impressed me most is the storytelling Kerryn and Matt weave into their music, which is some of the most authentically heartfelt folk I have heard in a long time. I adore their camaraderie, and how much they clearly enjoy sharing their time and talents with audiences who willingly go along for the ride with them from song to song.

Matt Joe Gow & Kerryn Fields are true troubadours, and a delight to listen to!

Matt and Kerryn hope you join them on their journey, and I highly encourage folk-loving folk to get yourselves along to a show on this New Zealand tour. Follow them on socials and go get a copy of the album I Remember You as a way to take home a part of their travels with you.