Album Review: Flags - Brooke Fraser

Flags - Brooke Fraser
4/5
High expectations can be a beast of a burden when you leap into a first listen of new music. That's how I approached the much-awaited, new album Flags by our own Brooke Fraser.
It's a follow up to her second and highly regarded Albertine , and yes, the expectations are high. On the first couple of listens my expectations resulted in disappointment. But I persisted and Flags grew on me the more I played it.
It's hard to fault the first few tracks. The opening and current single Something in the Water is simply the classiest, all-up pop song I've heard this year. Betty is great, and Orphans, Kingdoms and Who are we Fooling (featuring Aqualung) all demonstrate a confidence Fraser has now attained.
Perhaps the fact that she has self-produced this third album is the key. The overall sound Fraser has created shows a deft hand and sharp attention to detail. This is a lady who knows what she is about, and Flags, thanks to some patience of a few plays before judgement is delivered, is another big step up in her career. High expectation met.