The Resurrection Of Kate Miller-Heidke

Kate Miller-Heidke first featured on this blog way back in 2007 and you can tell from the tone of that rather ambivalent post that I wasn't exactly about to start a fanclub in her honour. I liked "Words" but feared Kate might be a bit too quirky for my trashy taste. Those suspicions were confirmed when I heard her debut album, which rivals Florence & The Machine's "Lungs" as the most desperate attempt I've ever heard to channel Kate Bush. I was so turned off that I didn't even bother checking out her second album when it was released last year despite enjoying the surprisingly poptastic lead single. The follow up caught my attention but even the excellent "Caught In A Crowd" couldn't shake me out of my Kate hating ways. It was going to take something extraordinary to change my mind and, happily, that's exactly what "The Last Day On Earth" delivers.

It's rather uncouth that such a talented singer owes her commercial breakthrough to a Neighbours commercial but like most of the rest of Australia that's how I first heard "The Last Day On Earth". That old ploy has been used a thousand times in the past but this is the only time I've got goosebumps from hearing a twenty second clip and immediately downloaded the song from iTunes. Kate has hit a once in a career home run with "The Last Day On Earth". It's like she's overcome her need to be eccentric and finally found her true voice. The subtlety of the track is what makes it so stunning. There's no over the top emoting or vocal gymnastics. Just some very simple piano and Kate's starkly beautiful lyrics. I'm extremely pleased to see the song sitting at number 2 on Australian iTunes and wouldn't be surprised if it's a future number 1 hit. There isn't an official video yet and it doesn't need one. I implore Kate to use this stunning fan made video clip (below) instead. It's utterly brilliant and completely epic. Can this genius please turn his attention to Dannii next?

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Kate Miller-Heidke's Words

The Aus-pop marathon continues with the quirky Kate Miller-Heidke. Kate has built a devoted following and garnered some impressive hype over the past couple of years. Both of her independent EPs received considerable airplay and comparisons to Tori Amos and Kate Bush were thrown around like pills at a gay dance party. Personally, I think Kate sounds like a less commercial Gwen Stefani with a throat infection. I mean that as a compliment. Sort of.

With all the buzz surrounding Kate, it was only a matter of time before a major label signed her and Sony got in first. Kate's first single for Sony is the slightly demented "Words". I still can't decide if I love or hate the song but I have been playing it on high rotation since it was released a couple of weeks ago, so it guess I'm leaning towards the former. "Words" begins rather inauspiciously before turning into one of the strangest pop hits of the year. The frequent tempo changes combined with Kate's operatic voice and some bizarre backing vocals make for a unique listening experience. The song broke the trend of Aus-pop flops by actually reaching the top 50 of the Singles Chart and Kate has been promoting her new album on every TV show in Australia. I've included the Album Mix of "Words", which is slightly less immediate than the single mix.

Kate Miller-Heidke's debut album "Little Eve" is released today and can be purchased from Sanity, Chaos and iTunes. I have my eye on the two disc version. "Words" is also available from those stores. Check out the arresting video clip and visit Kate's Myspace for more information.

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