The Australian roots singer takes a hard look at family, marriage, mortality, and rural life, asking a big question: do we have to stick to tradition, or can we let it grow?
Lumsden has gone from playing tiny country halls to the stages of Glastonbury, but ‘Traditions’ is all about what keeps her grounded. The title track sets the vibe perfectly with a breezy, pub-singalong energy and a killer, independent refrain: “I wanna laugh, I wanna laugh, I wanna fall, I wanna fly.”
The album covers a ton of emotional ground, starting with ‘Mother’s Eyes’, a sweet and relatable track about getting older and seeing your mum in yourself. She nods to hard work and small-town community on ‘Salt of the Earth’ before teaming up with Aussie legend Paul Kelly for the gorgeous, understated ‘By the River’.
She isn’t afraid to get heavy, either. ‘God or the Stars?’ and ‘Car Crash’ tackle life’s uncertainties and fragility head-on, but she keeps things from getting too dark with the playful romance of ‘Summer Mountain Moon’ and the upbeat, guitar-driven ‘Chest First’.
After wrestling with the anxiety of holding onto happiness in ‘Sweet Hurt’ and ‘Monsters and Magpies’, she wraps it all up with the empowering closer, ‘Difficult Woman’. It’s an absolute must-listen from one of the best contemporary storytellers.