by Mark Jackson and Philip Moss

Time, place, circumstance and the people that surround you can have a bigger impact than you sometimes realise in the moment. On Nadia Reid’s third long player outing – Out of My Province – this is absolutely the case, and the result is her best and most immediate record to date.

Last album, Preservation, was the point where Reid started to love herself again after a tumultuous relationship, but Out of My Province takes this to another level. The songwriter is seemingly now much more at ease, and kinder to her own creative process. This is evident in the trust bestowed upon producer, Trey Pollard, who, at various points across the album, oversees the expansion of her sound, which is brighter than ever before. The goosebumps inducing All Of My Love and Get The Devil Out find her voice further forward in the mix than ever before, as strings tastefully ebb and flow. While the alt-rockin’ In Canada is the most immediate song in her impressive canon and carries a beautiful airGet of freedom not present in her previous work – ‘I would like to go to Canada; I don’t know what what I am looking for’.

For those worried that Reid has completely lost what’s made her so special to date, Heart To Ride is one of a number of songs that are stripped back, and closer to the folky feel of previous releases. And longtime guitarist, Sam Taylor, still has a big part to play – his distinctive feel a constant throughout.

Out of My Province feels like the work of a woman who’s enjoyed the creative process through which it was created. And it is very much evidence that, right now, she’s one of the best songwriters in the game.

Secret Meeting score: 90

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