Puawai

Critics and audiences have been raving about Hinemoana Baker for nearly a decade - "strains of Dido, Mahinarangi Tocker and Joni Mitchell ... supreme vocals, passion ... tight technical rhythms, obvious joy ... expressive lyrics and tunings ... I was spellbound" ... and when you listen to her debut album "puawai" (blossoming) you will be spellbound as well.

In "puawai" Hinemoana expresses her many languages - from te reo Maori to rhythmic scat to the language of literature. The songs themselves have many different voices: from the anthemic rock track "Free" to the delicate raindrop feel of the title track and the sweeping summer-scape of "Blue Sky". While none of her songs become traditional waiata, Hinemoana often flows into singing in te reo Maori and powerfully incorporates the sounds of calling that are heard when women karanga.

The songs range in subject matter from the percussive bi-lingual "Missing You" (about love and longing) to the uplifting "Talk You Up" (about taking charge and staying positive) to the contemplative "puawai" (in which Hinemoana reflects on the experience of learning te reo Maori as an adult) to the only cover on the album "Secret Love" (a live favourite that was a huge hit for Doris Day and Kathy Kirby in the '50s and '60s!)

"This Kaptiti Coast-based singer was in these pages a fortnight ago, saying that her music has been described as "kinky indigenous symphonies". To which we might add kindly, don't always believe what people tell you.

Baker's enticing, folk-based music walks a fine line between classic Joni Mitchell in its melody-bending and entrancing vibrato and Bic Runga in its elemental elegance. But it has the added depth of her Maori heritage in the occasional use of te reo and waiata tradition.

With slippery bass, lap steel, djembe drum, cello and traditional Maori instruments used discreetly, this diverse collection runs from a cappella to full-bodied folk and spoken word pieces over picked acoustic guitar.

Baker sings of the power of nature in a way which is heartfelt but never cloyingly sentimental, of the fires of love which both warm and sear the heart, and of her heritage.

The final track is a spare rendering of the beautiful ballad "Secret Love", which she treats with reverence.

You have been warned of a major talent"
- Graham Reid (4 Star Review in the NZ Herald)