Seeker Lover Keeper

Individually, they're three of Australia's most innovative songwriters. Sally Seltmann specialises in narcotic, dreamy, sweeping pop, aided by layers of cotton-soft vocals, pianos and synths. Holly Throsby is known for summoning melodies that sound beautifully crumpled, worn and decades-old, and matching them with hushed, cutting lyrics that read like a Carver short story. Sarah Blasko writes haunting songs that veer from intimate ballads to orchestral showstoppers, and sings with what's now one of the most recognisable voices in Australian music.

All three are distinct talents, but there are common threads between their songwriting too: an underlying sense of nostalgia; the golden, sing-along pop tunes; and the complicated lyrics about seeking love, and how difficult it is to hold onto it once you've got it. It makes sense that the three of them would be good friends. Get them together in the same room-or even the same phone line-and it doesn't take long before they recall shared stories and descend into fits of laughter. But get them together in the studio or on stage, and you've got an entirely new band: Seeker Lover Keeper.

Seeker Lover Keeper was recorded over two hot weeks in New York. Sally, Sarah and Holly all had an affinity for the city, but it also represented a good central meeting point: Sarah flew there from London, while Sally and Holly jetted over from Sydney. They also recruited a few friends to come on board. Jim White (The Dirty Three) played drums. Shahzad Ismaily (Tom Waits, Martha Wainwright, Bonnie Prince Billy) played bass and guitar. Victor Van Vugt-an Australian based in New York, who mixed Sarah's second record ("What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have")-was recruited as producer alongside Seeker Lover Keeper. Holly, Sarah and Sally all shared piano and other guitar duties.

The finished result is Seeker Lover Keeper, a self-titled album that's reminiscent of all three of the artists' back catalogues, but also unlike anything any of them have recorded.