Nadia Reid Album Reviews

Singer-songwriter Nadia Reid hails from Port Chalmers. It’s a port suburb of Dunedin, New Zealand, known for alternative life-stylers and artists. Her mother is a local jazz singer. Operating in the singer-songwriter genre, it’s easy to overlook what a capable vocalist Nadia Reid is, with a full, rich voice.

But even more impressive than her singing voice is her writing voice. Reid has a clear individual style, even when writing about well-worn territory like relationships. There’s enough enigma around her songs that listeners come back for more – they’re usually blurry and evocative, rather than straightforward. Reid often works with a full band, but with her personal, confessional songs, it’s safe to file her as a singer-songwriter.

Reid self-released her first album, Listen To Formation, Look For The Signs, in 2014. It gained attention in international publications. Her debut showcased a talented songwriter, but her second album Preservation takes everything a step further. More confident and accomplished, it deserved its second place on Mojo’s Best Albums of 2017 list.

Nadia Reid Album Reviews

Favourite Album: Preservation

Listen To Formation, Look For The Signs

2014, 8/10
Nadia Reid first picked up a guitar at fifteen. Listen To Formation… is an incredibly poised album from a songwriter in her early twenties. Reid purposely self-released the album, and relied on glowing international reviews to raise its profile. Reid stated “that was something I was really conscious of with self-releasing the first album – I didn’t want to have to beg anyone to put my record out, to force something that wasn’t meant to be.”

There was no need to worry – Formation is a strong debut album, showcasing a songwriter with a unique perspective already in place. It’s more subdued and introspective than her next album, with gentler arrangements centred around Reid’s guitar.

Highlights include the opening ‘Runway’, with its evocative opening line, “When I hit the ground in all my glory/I will know where I have come from”. Guitarist Sam Taylor’s shimmering textures accompany Reid’s acoustic picking. ‘Call The Days’ has a beautiful hook, while the louder ‘Reaching Through’ and ‘Holy Low’ provide punchy contrast to the low-key songs.

Listen To Formation, Look For The Signs is an assured, impressive debut, but Reid would surpass it with her next effort.

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Preservation

2017, 9.5/10
Reid opts for a more full bodied sound on her confident sophomore record. She’s again fronting her four piece band of jazz school graduates, and it suits her better. Her powerful voice suits the band format, and her songs are personal enough that they still feel intimate and enigmatic, even with the band arrangements. Preservation is palpably a breakup album – Reid paints a portrait of her ex-boyfriend on the excellent ‘Richard’. ‘Reach My Destination’ is acoustic, but it’s powerful because it’s so unusually direct for Reid: “There were two little words that I used/One was ‘fuck’, the other was ‘you’”.

Seeing Reid live recently, ‘Richard’ was the most requested song from her catalogue – Reid didn’t play guitar on it live, instead letting her band rock through it, while only supplying the commanding vocals. It’s a great rock song, filled with great imagery (“Filled the sink with blood/And I am on the cross of forgiveness”). ‘The Arrow And The Aim’ is pretty and melodic, but its delivered with squally guitar and a downtrodden sounding rhythm section. ‘Ain’t Got You’ ends the record with a mournful gravitas that belies Reid’s young age.

Preservation is an incredibly strong record from a very gifted songwriter,

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Out Of My Province

2020, 7.5/10
Nadia Reid named her third album for a quote from New Zealand author Janet Frame, known for the biographical film An Angel at My Table. Out Of My Province is a fitting title – Reid recorded it in Richmond, Virginia. Her co-producer is Spacebomb’s Matthew E. White, who’s worked with Natalie Prass and Sharon Van Etten.

White allows Reid access to a much wider range of textures than before. Out of My Province sometimes feels like a compromise – like an audition tape for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. Reid sacrifices some of the intimacy that characterised her previous records.

Sometimes the fuller arrangements work – the horn flourishes on ‘High & Lonely’ add another dimension. On the other hand, tunes like ‘Oh Canada’ and ‘The Future’ are too slick to allow Reid’s personality to shine through. My favourite track is the opening ‘All Of My Love’, which supports a pretty tune with a classy countrified arrangement, while the simpler arrangements on tracks like ‘Who Is Protecting Me’ allow Reid space to breathe. Reid’s voice remains a major asset, and shines with the fuller arrangements. Guitarist Sam Taylor is still present, and gives Reid’s music some edge when he’s utilised, but Out Of My Province is too tame overall.

Out Of My Province successfully expands the scope of Reid’s music, but it doesn’t quite capture enough of her unique personality; hopefully her next release can do both.

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Enter Now Brightness

2025, 8/10
Dunedin singer-songwriter Nadia Reid was part of a wave of excellent New Zealand solo artists who arrived in the 2010s. I’ve also covered Tiny Ruins and Marlon Williams in this column. She started making dark, stripped-back records.

Reid recently told Rolling Stone, “I think for my first two records, I was really serious, heavy, angry and sad.” Motherhood has mellowed Reid out, although she still has her gorgeously rich voice and unique lyrical perspective.

You are a gothic sailor, baby
I see you in glory maybe
There was a chord of pure delight

No sign of retribution
No need for resolution
You are the light that leads me homeCry on Cue, Nadia Reid

As the title indicates, Enter Now Brightness is much closer to a pop album than Reid’s earlier work. But the offbeat instrumentation adds personality, ‘Baby Bright’ is coloured by horns and stabs of choir. The piano ballad ‘Cry on Cue’ might be overly sentimental in the hands of a less interesting writer, but Reid’s vocal performance and unique lyrical perspective make it enticing.

‘Hotel Santa Cruz’ is a second-half highlight, poppy and upbeat by Reid’s standards. Happy material dominates the album, but fans of older, sadder Nadia will appreciate downbeat tunes like ‘Even Now’.

Reid’s convincing, whether she’s making sad music or happy music.

10 Best Nadia Reid Songs

Richard
Ain’t Got You
Runway
Baby Bright
All Of My Love
Call The Days
The Arrow and the Aim
Hold It Up
Reach My Destination
Holy Low

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