I always write a lot so I love it when songs can find homes in the outside world. Track one ‘Flipped It’ was recorded in the “Me and Ennui” session, and I couldn’t find a comfortable place for it on that record. Track Two ‘All the things…’ was recorded during the “Please Daddy” sessions, earlier that same year in 2019. Track 3 ‘People Shouldn’t…’ was recorded in Adelaide 2010 (I think??) during the Batrider recording of “Piles of Lies”. a few of the other solo songs I recorded during this Batrider session made up part of my first solo record ‘Eating For Two”. The fourth track “Lay Your Body On Mine” was recorded in the “Roses always Die” sessions, and the last song was recorded by me the other night. It’s a funny smattering of styles and songs, I can see myself in all of them though.
To listen to Sarah Mary Chadwick’s music is to be a quiet observer to her thoughts on love, death and mental health. Sometimes anguish bears itself in sullen, dreamy vs dreary moments, but more often torment manifests at the break of Chadwick’s voice as she sings painfully vulnerable, self-aware lyrics.
“Flipped It” is the EP’s title track and no exception to vulnerability. The video follows Chadwickacross the beach in Sydney, Aus, and the song itself places the listener in the ominous feeling of desolation – “I feel like someone’s ripping off my wallpaper inside, making piles of shredded memories that flit across my eyes..”
Sarah Mary Chadwick is a singer/songwriter and visual artist, based in Melbourne. After moving to Australia from New Zealand to pursue a career in music, Chadwick spent a decade fronting the grunge band Batrider. In 2012, she shifted focus to her now prolific solo career. Essentially, Chadwick’s work is basic reportage of events and observations from her own life, creating something exactly realized yet completely relatable.
Chadwick’s performance remains singular and complex as she simultaneously savors and is repelled by the podium that her creativity affords her, acknowledging that “it’s a position of power being on a microphone” and how “..it’s a desperate demand to be seen. It’s funny and really sad. These days, I just want to be an entertainer.’’
New EP out now via Kill Rock Stars
released November 11th, 2022
All songs written and produced by Sarah Mary Chadwick
The Fat Angel Sings 