If, like me, you fell in love with the quiet intensity of Nadia Reid's debut album, Listen To Formation, Look For The Signs, you'll be happy to know that Preservation is a stunner along a similar vein. Reid avoids the dreaded sophomore slump by resisting the urge to make major changes to her sound - instead she builds and expands on her strengths, both musically and lyrically - a successful act of 'preservation' indeed.
Reid sounds more assured, more comfortable with her craft, and so does her band - the backing is subtle yet authoritative, more elaborate and expansive than before but never getting in the way of the songs. While she keeps within the broad outlines of the style defined on her debut, the new album is more diverse - from the beautiful, stately title-track to the up-tempo, almost poppy 'Right On Time' to the atmospheric soundscapes of 'Te Aro'. In combination with the sparse, finger-picked folk of 'Hanson St, Pt 2' and 'Reach My Destination', this results in an album that is immediately recognisable as Nadia Reid, only more so. Lyrically she's as good as ever - serious but never depressing, world-weary yet shot through with a wry sense of humour.
Choosing favourites is hard - the songs work together as an album rather than just a collection of tracks, but a special mention must go to the stunning centrepiece 'I Come Home to You', while 'I Ain't Got You' is a perfect, yearning country-croon closer. All-in-all,Preservation is an excellent album by a wonderfully talented artist.
