Brooke Fraser Issue #36

Albertine (Columbia)

By Joelle Caputa
Published: August 1st, 2008 | 10:39am

Led by the single “Deciphering Me” and featuring a track for lovelorn dreamers called “Love is Waiting,” the impressive Albertine shows Fraser’s maturity as an artist. Mostly recorded live-to-tape in Hollywood under the direction of producer Marshall Altman (Marc Broussard, Matt Nathanson), this multi-platinum, award-winning New Zealander creates beauty through simplicity. With lips that rival Angelina Jolie’s and hands that pen lyrics so poetic they could top charts without any backing music, Fraser is on a mission to change the world. Her voice is the only instrument she needs.

In a time when most young, major-label artists would take advantage of the monetary resources being thrown their way and record an over-produced mess of tracks with a short shelf life, this down-to-earth starlet did just the opposite. Though she was just 19 years old when her debut, What to Do With Daylight, cracked the New Zealand charts and sales exceeded seven times platinum, the success hasn’t gone to her head.

Instead, it took Fraser to Africa, where she bonded with Albertine, an orphaned girl from Rwanda. She vowed to use her fame to raise awareness for the tiny poverty-stricken nation. Now all eyes are on Fraser as she stands upon stages and sings for Albertine, child-headed households, and AIDS-stricken communities.

During “C.S. Lewis Song,” Fraser reveals, “If I find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy / I can only conclude that I was not made for here / I will sigh and with all creation groan as I wait for hope to come for me.” Which is pretty ironic coming from someone who was perhaps made to be here because she is hope for so many. — Joelle Caputa