WHOEVER you are it's impossible to escape your past.
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Ever since Killing Heidi broke up as a studio band in 2006 Ella Hooper has been trying to forge herself a new identity across music and media with varying levels of success.
Her 2014 album In Tongues and 2016 EP New Magic featured some fun tunes, but still people clamour for Killing Heidi's Weir, a song written by a teenage Hooper about growing up in Violet Town and swimming at the local dam.
For her second full-length solo album Hooper has once again returned to her childhood for inspiration, but from a completely different angle.
Small Town Temple is basically a love letter to Violet Town, to Hooper's stress-free country childhood and to her parents, who sadly both died last February shortly after the record was completed.
Her mother Helen Keighery sings the opening Intro (VT Lullaby) taken from a home recording, while her father plays alto recorder on the closing Long Gully Road.
Rather than the punkish take on alternative-folk that Killing Heidi traded in back in 1999, Small Town Temple is a collection of warm Americana-pop inspired by Hooper's love of '70s artists like Fleetwood Mac and Linda Ronstadt.
While Hooper doesn't add much originality to the genre, her genuine appreciation is evident. Small Town Temple isn't some derivative exercise and she's avoided adopting a nauseating southern twang.
In fact, her voice has never sounded more comfortable, breezing through sun-soaked melodies.
Grow Wild is a playful slice of pop-folk about Hooper's childhood adventures, and even Old News' insecure lyrics of, "Old news, I feel like I'm just old news/ Hung up on some teenage blues/ The story never ends," feels cheerful wrapped in the gentle arrangement.
Achilles Heel is a powerful lament where Hooper's voice duels with a mournful guitar.
Whatever Hooper does, she's unlikely to ever completely cast off the image of Killing Heidi and their teen hits Weir and Mascara. But Small Town Temple has given the soon-to-be 40-year-old an exciting detour worth taking a drive down.
3.5 stars
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
