Drylands (album)

Drylands is Mel Parsons' third album, released on 10 April 2015 on Cape Road Recordings.[3][8] The album was recorded in engineer Lee Prebble's Surgery Studios in Wellington, New Zealand. One of the songs Parsons wrote was a duet, and she decided to cold e-mail Ron Sexsmith to see if he would perform the other half of the song "Don't Wait", and he agreed. Along with Ron Sexsmith, the album showcases local and international guest musicians Anika Moa, Vyvienne Long, and Trevor Hutchinson.[9] Another song on the album, "Get Out Alive", is the result of her writing about a dangerous car accident she was in where the car rolled four times and was totaled, but she walked out without serious injury, but found herself re-evaluating her life for a time.[10][7]

Drylands
Studio album by Mel Parsons
Released	10 April 2015
Genre	Folk-pop, indie folk[1]
Length	51:27[2]
Label	Cape Road Recordings[3]
Producer	Mel Parsons, Gerry Paul[4]
Mel Parsons chronology
Red Grey Blue (2011) Drylands (2015) Glass Heart (2018)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
New Zealand Herald	[5]
Otago Daily Times	[6]
Pop Magazine	[7]

Track list

All tracks are written by Mel Parsons[4][9].

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Far Away"	3:37
2.	"Alberta Sun"	4:15
3.	"Driving Man"	4:33
4.	"Non Communicado"	3:48
5.	"Don't Wait" (featuring Ron Sexsmith)	3:43
6.	"Far North Coast"	3:36
7.	"Good Together"	3:22
8.	"Friend"	4:34
9.	"Get Out Alive"	3:45
10.	"Down So Long"	4:17
11.	"First Sign of Trouble"	4:18
12.	"Fireworks"	2:48
13.	"Another City"	4:51

Personnel

Musicians[4][8][5][11] Mel Parsons – vocals, guitar Gerry Paul - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, lap steel guitar Neil Watson - guitar Aaron Stewart - bass Trevor Hutchinson - double bass Craig Terris - drums Nick George - drums Ed Zuccollo - piano, Hammond organ Vyvienne Long - cello Ron Sexsmith - vocals (track 5) Anika Moa - backing vocals Andrew Keoghan - vocals (track 8) Lisa Tomlins - backing vocals (track 8) Anji Sami - backing vocals (track 8) Lex French - trumpet Ebony Lamb - choir (track 1) Anna Shaw - choir (track 1) Jamie Parlett - choir (track 1) Cameron "Dusty" Burnell - choir (track 1) Kim Bonnington - choir (track 1) Louis Thompson-Munn - choir (track 1) Imogen Holmstead-Scott - choir (track 1) Katie McCarthy-Burke - choir (track 1) Justin Firefly Clarke - choir (track 1) Manu Scott - choir (track 1)

Production[4][8] Mel Parsons - producer Gerry Paul - producer Don Bartlye – mastering at Benchmark, Sydney Lee Prebble - engineering at the Surgery, Wellington, NZ, mixing (track 1) Trevor Hutchinson - additional engineering Don Kerr - additional engineering Jeremy Toy - additional engineering Oliver Harmer - mixing at The Lab, Auckland, NZ, additional engineering

Chart

Chart	Peak position
NZ Top 40 Albums Chart	17[12]
Top 20 IMNZ Albums	1[13]

Awards

• Best Country Music Song (Alberta Sun) – 2016 New Zealand Music Awards.[14]
• Best Engineer (Lee Prebble and Oliver Harmer) - 2015 New Zealand Music Awards[15]

References

1. Reid, Graham (13 April 2015). "Mel Parsons: Drylands (Border)". Elsewhere. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
2. "Drylands - Mel Parsons". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
3. "Drylands by Mel Parsons". iTunes NZ. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
4. Drylands (CD liner). Mel Parsons. New Zealand: Cape Road Recordings. 2015. CRR083.CS1 maint: others (link)
5. Gillespie, Kim (17 April 2015). "Music Review: Drylands, Mel Parsons". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
6. Gilchrist, Shane (27 April 2015). "CD reviews: Mel Parsons". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
7. Perkins, Mai (21 April 2015). "Review: Mel Parsons – Drylands". Pop Magazine. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
8. "Drylands by Mel Parsons". Bandcamp. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
9. "Mel Parsons 'Drylands' Release Tour with Christof (NL)". EventFinda. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
10. "Finding the Balance Between the Pragmatic & the Poetic". The Music.com.au. 7 November 2016. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
11. Sweetman, Simon (15 April 2015). "Mel Parsons: Drylands". Off the Tracks. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
12. "Mel Parsons - Bio". Muzic.Net.NZ. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
13. "Top 20 IMNZ Albums – Week To Thursday, 3 November 2016". Independent Music NZ. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
14. "Country Music Winners Announced". Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
15. Dunstan, Robert. "Mel Parsons at Trinity Sessions – Friday 11 December". BSide Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2019.