Rebecca Hancock - Singer-Songwriter, Lyricist, Australian Independent Artist

Reviews and Press Quotes for Somewhere to Land:

"an exceptional debut solo album" MOJO Magazine, UK, February, 2003

"a classic, timeless album of wistful, lovelorn and haunting blue - It's one of those albums you can't get through without the desire to hit repeat becoming overwhelming." Maverick Magazine, UK, Jan 2003

"a remarkably haunting take on Love Will Tear Us Apart that will stop you in its tracks in disbelief at its new musical setting, then charm the frown off your brow before wrapping a big grin over your face" Bournemouth Daily Echo, UK, 7 February 2003

"excellent, as good an album as I've heard all year", Martin Gilfish Rock 'n'Reel Magazine, UK, September, 2002.

"Hancock's chameleonic voice alternately recalls the laid-back roots of Sheryl Crow, the drama of Tori Amos and the fire of Ani DiFranco, the results are uniformly uplifting and enthralling...here is compelling evidence that Australia is set to replace Scandinavia as the scene du jour in the very near future. Alan Downes, Logo Magazine, 25 September, UK, 2002

"Somewhere to Land is an exceptional debut, full of maturity, wisdom and great hooks. Each track blossoms like a rare wildflower. It really bites!" John Carver, Presenter, PBS FM, 22 September, Melbourne, Australia.

"Strikingly original debut" HiFi Plus, UK, Issue 19 2002.

With the release of her debut album, Somewhere To Land, Rebecca Hancock has finally stepped forward to join the ranks of spirited and intelligent singer-songwriters whose songs have become an essential backdrop to contemporary life. It's a process that has taken her more than a decade but the depth and diversity of the beautifully crafted songs delivered with Rebecca's remarkably big, flexible voice makes Somewhere To Land well worth the wait.

Rebecca's apprenticeship in the world of music couldn't have been more prestigious. It began in the early '80s when she fronted Sydney band, Watusi Now, going on to work with Louis Tillett in the legendary Paris Green. She then joined the equally legendary Ed Kuepper in The Yard Goes On Forever with whom she toured internationally on keyboards and vocals, featuring on the seminal Everybody's Got To album. Music almost lost her when she decided to drop out of the scene for a while, taking up university studies, having a daughter and taking up a "day job" that proved to be demanding as well as challenging. Her steps back into music were initially quite tentative.

"I just felt more and more drawn back to doing music," Rebecca admits. "All through that period I was writing because it's something I do for pleasure, an escape from the world. I'd just disappear into my room and work away on my four-track, and I got to the stage where I thought I'd actually like to see what these songs would sound like fully fleshed out."

Considering her experience and the fact that she has been writing for a decade, there's a charming humility in Rebecca that belies the strength and maturity within these songs, songs that easily invite comparisons with artists of the calibre of Marianne Faithfull, Joni Mitchell and Carole King.

"It was a process of writing over a period of time while I built up confidence and got a bit better at it," she admits. "Most of the songs are a year or two old. There were a couple of songs that were older that didn't make it onto the record. Maybe that's a sign that I'm improving!"

The initial plan was to record an EP but when Martin Jennings at Hot Records heard what Rebecca had already recorded, he enthusiastically pressed her to record a full album. She turned to producer and locally respected power pop artist, Michael Carpenter and pulled together the musicians that became The Prison Wives: former Watusi Now bandmates, John Sandow on piano and Mark Bradridge on bass; Nick Fisher (Wet Taxis/New Christs/Wigworld) on drums; and Carpenter himself adding all manner of additional noises from multi-instrumental battery.

"As far as the album sounds overall," Rebecca feels, "the people in The Prison Wives had a big part to play. Everyone contributed a lot to the final sound and arrangements."

With Somewhere To Land, Rebecca has created a truly exceptional body of work, at once seductive and yet thought-provoking, a truly irresistible journey into the heart and mind of a woman of the new millennium.

"Somewhere to Land is one of my favourite albums of the year." - Craig Hannington, BCB FM, Bradford, UK, 28 August, 2002.

"Rebecca Hancock and the Prison Wives debut album is a worthy addition to any serious contemporary music collection, guaranteed to be played again and again." - Mike Botham, Writers' Block 2BLU FM 89.1. 31 August, 2002.

"Rebecca has a voice and a vision that stands comparisons to Marianne Faithfull" - Michael Smith, Drum Media, CD reviews, 27 August, 2002 (full review below)

"Rebecca Hancock has an absolutely lovely voice and The Prison Wives are fine players" - Revolver, 22 May 2002.

From a whisper to a roar, the band inexorably builds, layer upon layer underneath the quiet strength of Rebecca Hancock's voice as she tells the tale of a woman prepared to stand up for her desires - "the Moon wants a lover too". And who could deny that sultry petulance, wrapped as it is in a sweetness that has the subtle sting of an unnoticed rose thorn? Rebecca has a voice and vision that stands comparisons to Marianne Faithfull without the bluntness that marked that pop siren's most anarchic period. There's much more playfulness on Somewhere to Land, even in its "darkest" moments, and that makes this debut even more effective. There's no need for expletives when you're this articulate about the War of the Sexes.

And not just love. The indictment of contemporary urban living is just as ominous yet deliciously articulated in (This Town Will) Eat a Man Alive, delivered with just the kind of intensity that made Annie Lennox a feminist icon in the 90's. Yet beneath the strength is a fragility that only adds to the emotional depth of Rebecca's work. It's the vision of a mature young woman, someone who has obviously lived loved and lost and isn't scared of either recounting or reliving the bittersweet experience. After all, Everybody's Been Burned. Sooner or later. Actually I can hear Shirley Bassey delivering that one in her usual sledgehammer style, with its melodic undertones of Bond themes and French noir cinema.

Her collaborators (conspirators?) The Prison Wives - bass player Mark Bradridge, keyboards player John Sandow and drummer Nick Fisher - are equal to the task of providing intelligent arrangements and musicianship to Hancock's images and melodies, understating in just the right places, creating dramatic swathes of sounds where it counts. And just to demolish any preconceptions you might have developed, Rebecca finishes off by tackling the unlikeliest '80s anthem you never expected anyone to cover, let alone successfully. Love Will Tear us Apart has never sounded so haunting - or so surprising.

Michael Smith, The Drum Media, CD Reviews, 27 August 2002