Daylesford-born Melbourne native Mia Dyson has been a darling of the alt-roots and blues scene in Australia and more recently the world, especially the US, since her debut album Cold Water in 2003, rocketing to the top of her genre in 2005, winning Best Roots and Blues album at the ARIAS for her second album, Parking Lots. With her sixth and latest release, ‘If I Said Only So Far I Take It Back’, Dyson has made a distinct departure from her previous albums. All of which had a solid element of country in the mix of styles, which habitually included a mix of folk and indie rock.

On ‘If I Said Only So Far I Take It Back’, Dyson has noticeably dropped the country element from her music for the first time in her career, with an increase in the drum-less, noodling guitar ballads that have sometimes appeared on her albums, incorporating lush, sweeping orchestration complete with background swings, such as in slow-burning opener, ‘Being Scared‘, ‘Beloved‘ halfway through the album, ‘I Defy You‘ and closing number, ‘Everything Is Waiting For You‘. ‘Fool‘ is a straight ahead rocker that charts the internal reflection of someone debating whether they should enter an emotionally risk relationship or not.

To her credit, Mia Dyson, while clearly blazing a trail of her own individual passion and creative inspiration, joins a fine tradition or hallowed company of such folk, country and alt-rock female greats as diverse as Michelle Shocked, Toni Childs, Four Non Blondes, Cowboy Junkies and Melissa Etheridge. In most of her previous five albums Dyson has echoed shades of being a female Bob Dylan and KD Lang, without a hint of plagiarism. It is important to make the distinction between ‘influences’ and natural inspiration.

The mature listener can tell the difference, and recognise that musical and artistic creativity is an organic process, so comparisons and similarities to other artists will be inevitable, but not suggestive of a lack of originality, as is often implied. Dyson has her own distinctive author’s voice and sound anyway. Another agreeable aspect of ‘If I Said Only So Far I Take It Back’ is that the rock elements of Dyson’s sound have been softened a little and are a little less abrasive. Which leads to a very personal, richly emotional and beautiful album.

As demonstrated on ‘Diamonds‘, which is a cheery indie bopper with guitar distortion a little reminiscent of R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and the swampy, brooding torch of ‘Nothing‘. ‘Beloved‘ resumes the lush, yearning lilt of album opener ‘Being Scared’ with a little more rhythm. ‘Open‘ is the only song on the album that has the level of abrasive Baby Animals-esque rock that has frequently featured on all but her more heavily country-tinged debut album. There is a lot going on here with the wide range of various sounds and genres and that makes for a colourful, lively album that is emotionaly very well fleshed out.

Dyson comes across as a clearly uncompromising, reflective, sweet and authentic woman and musician. The great thing about ‘If I Said Only So Far I Take It Back’ is you feel like you could be sitting in a low-lit bar anywhere from Nashville to St. Kilda on a Sunday afternoon, slowly getting drunk on bourbon, wallowing in your emotions as you reflect on love, life, joy and loss. And you couldn’t really ask for more than that. In some ways, Dyson’s new album is a career peak for her, presenting her most accomplished and assured sound and collection of songs yet.