Coming To America

Sabrina Lawrie stands out. There are a handful of reference points that afford some insight into her work – PJ Harvey's grit, for instance – but they largely fall short. It hits hard. Distorted, bruised and almost painfully human, Lawrie's work doesn't sit comfortably alongside that of other Australian female singer/songwriters. Indeed, it demonstrates how ridiculous such ill-considered categorisations have always been.

“It's an interesting question. I feel good about the level of female musicians in Australia that are out there enjoying success right now – you know, I love rocky stuff, I love Abbe May and the path she's taken as a musician – but I'm definitely coming at it from a different angle,” Lawrie muses. “That's certainly part of the reason I'm going back to the US. My music was received very differently over there compared to how it is here.”

Lawrie's been a part of Brisbane's music scene for over 15 years. Most recently, she's earned a reputation for supporting Brisbane music in her capacity as booker for the Beetle Bar – but she's an accomplished musician as well; boasting stints with local favourites Little Vegas & The Fuzz Parade and Tongue. Of late, she's been focussing on her solo career. The past two years have seen her gradually piecing together her debut album.

“It's taken a while. I didn't rush myself. Things just changed and developed over the course of recording it. I funded it all myself and did everything myself. I recorded it locally. It was good, I think, to just do it over a couple of months with no pressure. You know, to just let the songs change and develop as necessary,” she reflects. “I'll be glad to finally get it out, though.”

It's that record that will take her away from our shores. She'll be performing one final fundraising show this weekend and then she's relocating to the US to finish mixing the record and begin new projects (including one with Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist Dave Catching). Surprisingly, she harbours no real ambitions for her career. Lawrie doesn't speak of markets or opportunities or commercial success. It's simply a chance to make music.

“I'm pretty easy-going. I just really need to get this album out,” Lawrie laughs. “I know that once I do that, I can get back to releasing more music. There wasn't any real pressure with the making of this album. I've just been writing songs all my life and want to get them out there. The last three bands I was in, we got to a certain point, and then broke up before we released an album. I just want to get this out there.

“You know, stardom's never been that important to me,” she says. “In my first band, I was very young and kind of fell into that trap but, since then, I haven't been at all interested in that sort of stuff. I really just want to make music. You know, I have no real clear ambitions or expectations about going to the States. I just really enjoyed my time there last time and worked with some really great musicians.

“There are a lot of kind of clichés about musicians leaving Brisbane because they hate it or want to be famous – but that isn't really what I'm doing at all. I'm still going to be booking the Beetle Bar while I'm in the US. I still love Brisbane and I still love Brisbane music.”