Mia Dyson has shared her new album Tender Heart today, a ten song collection marking the return of Australia’s “soulful wonder” (Rolling Stone) – as she processes in real-time the physical and emotional aftermath of a near-death experience, with a soft twist on her instantly-memorable, blues-infused signature sound.
The release of Tender Heart finds Mia returning six years after her most recent full-length If I Said Only So Far I Take It Back – coined a “celebration of grace” (Billboard) – and chronicles a period which found the Australian singer-songwriter plunging fearlessly into life’s toughest endeavors, learning to unearth the joy that exists in choosing courage and love. ‘Tender Heart’ can be traced back to a harrowing near-death experience in the midst of the pandemic, when Dyson remembers going somewhere else entirely – a place of “darkness and nothingness.”
After an earthquake struck her Los Angeles home, Dyson experienced an undiagnosed heart arrhythmia – causing her to suddenly stop breathing. Her husband and songwriting partner Karl Linder remembers finding Dyson hunched against the wall of their bedroom with “lifeless eyes that almost looked wooden.” Just in time to save her life, Dyson was rushed to the hospital, had a defibrillator implanted, and was left to heal and learn to process life through a new lens.
Mia Dyson on ‘Tender Heart’: “I remember it was peaceful being (mostly?) dead. I was far far away and nothing was wrong. And then as Karl got me breathing again I came back into my body, slowly and terribly, as I started to feel my limbs and try to comprehend what was going on. After that experience, I was able to cherish the time in the studio with my band like never before. I felt the gravity of the fact that it could easily not have happened. We took time with it.
We shared the experience and the load. How grateful I feel to have more time on earth and with my dear friends and collaborators: Syd Sidney on drums, Daniel Wright on bass and background vocals, Lee Pardini on keys and Scott Hirsch on the production, engineering, mixing and extra guitars. However silly it sounds to try and use words to describe what is a beyond-words experience, I will try.”
Dyson’s deep sense of perspective and open-hearted embrace of all that was almost lost can be felt throughout the album’s entirety, including advance tracks “Thank You,” which centers on her succinct and all-important ‘ideal’ last words to her husband, “Dragging Me Down,” a track “full of introspection” with “standout lyrics” (The Honey Pop) and “Sunny Hills,” a tenacious acknowledgement of the complexities that come alongside love. Listen to the opening track “Dare” – which Dyson wrote prior to her near-death experience, but which presciently opens with the lyrics: “the ground beneath my feet will always be shaking…the death inside of me will always be waiting” – here.
Listen to ‘Tender Heart’ here: https://ffm.to/mdtenderheartplay
‘Tender Heart’ finds a topic that’s nearly beyond words handled deftly by Dyson with intimacy, nuance, and urgency, by a long-respected craftsperson of her field.
An ARIA winner in Australia for Best Blues and Roots Album, she was later voted as one of her home country’s “25 Best Guitar Players Of All Time” by the Herald Sun newspaper. Opening for legends including Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Nicks (with P!NK adding that Dyson “blew my mind apart”), Dyson’s songs have earned recognition from NPR Music’s Best Of The Year in 2018, and a four star review in Rolling Stone. Matching her songwriting with a gripping and galvanizing live show, Dyson has been bringing ‘Tender Heart’ to stages across Australia, and will return to the United States later in 2024. Please find a full list of dates below.
