Those who have lived and breathed the Sydney live music scene, especially those with a penchant for blues and soul music, may already be familiar with Fabro. Her rich and soulful voice has rained down on listeners in venues and at festivals across the country for over a decade, during which time she has steadily built a core of dedicated followers.
Jo Fabro cuts a striking figure. At 6”1’ it’s hard not to notice her. It is her voice, however, that is her most striking feature. It is as powerful as Fabro is tall with a stunning capacity for sensitivity and lightness. Fabro is at any moment capable of smacking you in the proverbial mouth with pure, raw emotion and the next minute completely sucking you in with a haunting siren-like quality. You can never be sure where she will take you, only that you’re going to enjoy the journey.
Since Fabro first appeared on the scene, she has consistently honed her craft, developing as a songwriter, and maturing as a vocalist. Since 2008 Fabro has released 2 independent albums as a solo artist, albeit with a dedicated band behind her. Fabro has also released a jazz album during that time. This is sometimes a source of confusion. Fabro is, at times, pegged as a jazz singer, as a soul or blues singer, sometimes a session singer.
“I have always felt weird being called an “anything” says Fabro. “I like lots of different things, I write in different styles. I just feel like me. And I think in the past, I have been a little distracted by trying to present myself as one thing or another”.
Recently, however, Fabro’s mind has turned to thinking less about being in a “type of singer” and more about existing as a songwriter, as her own artist, separate from any specific musicians or style of music.
“The birth of this album and this band was completely accidental” says Fabro, who in 2017/2018 toying with the idea of heading over to Nashville record a solo blues project.
“I was writing steadily for that project, and I just needed hear some of the tunes fleshed out with a band, so I called on my oldest musician friends and they agreed to come and jam with me and it just clicked”.
The plan was to spend some time playing, refining the songs, saving some money and then head overseas…then COVID happened. What initially began as a jam session, turned in to a source of solace for all the members of Fabro’s band.
“When we would get together and play, it really was a way that we kept our sanity. I am so grateful to the guys for that time, and that experienced has influenced so much for my writing since that point. So, this new album is “my album”; they are my songs; and this is my release, but I can’t untangle it from these musicians, they’re my family”.
The name of Fabro’s new album “Don’t Make A Liar Out Of Me”, is a reference to the song that brought the band together. It is the song that Fabro was desperate to hear fleshed out by live musicians.
“Sometimes when you write something, you have a really clear idea in your head about what it should sound like, but you just need to hear it. I brought it to the guys, and they just brought it to life, exactly as I had imagined. It was like they had always been playing it”.
When you listen to the album you can hear how tight this band really is. Blues Guitarist Adam Pringle is a stalwart of power on the guitar. Jerry Craib brings a beautiful sensibility to the bass and drummer James Hauptmann is one of the most organic drummers in town. Together they work.
Most strikingly, you can hear that Fabro has at last found her place. She sings with the confidence of someone saying, “this is it, take it or leave it”. It would be easy to peg this album as being a contemporary soul or blues album, when in fact the strength of the song-writing means that this album has so much appeal for so many different people.
People who like music, people who like heart, people who want to be moved. The title track (Don’t Make A liar out of me) draws on all the contemporary Blues sensibility of artists such as Bonnie Raitt and Tedeschi Trucks. With rolling dark tones and lyrics that talk about the moments in a relationship in which you stand your ground and call your partner to take ownership of their role in that relationship. The first single (Parallel to the Tram) is a party anthem with rock/pop roots akin to The Black Keys. There are also moments of beautiful melodic flight (The Looking Glass) and personal reflection (Waterloo).
All of these moments are unified by Fabro’s powerful vocal and strong storytelling skills. At the risk of sounding like a cliche, this is an album about life, love and relationships, but one told with such honesty and realism that there is no cliche to be found.
Press
Her forthcoming album, Don’t Make A Liar Out of Me is a rich, captivating collection of tunes that showcase a skillful fusion of groovy funk, R&B and soul to create a series of endlessly-playable, feel-good tunes that are sure to get you moving…Fresh, funky and flawless, Don’t Make A Liar Out Of Me is a striking addition to Jo Fabro’s rapidly-expanding repertoire, and one you won’t want to miss - HAPPY MAG - See full article HERE
Fabro sang an original lament called The Looking Glass with such conviction as hoisted both song and performance above the boots and hats of idiom. One suspects [Fabro] could permanently reside in that elevated zone beyond genre, as, say, Tom Waits and Cassandra Wilson do. - John Shand (SMH)
“[Fabro] is a full-blown talent.” – John Clare (SMH)
“Listen up, She’s the real deal” – Emma Pask