Lyn Bowtell Breaks Down Every Track On New Album ‘Wiser'

Lyn Bowtell’s new album Wiser is due for release tomorrow, May 13 - you can pre-order it here. Produced by Shane Nicholson, Wiser includes the singles I Won't Do That Again (which peaked at #24 on the Countrytown Hot 50 Country Airplay Chart) and Woman To Woman.

Lyn has a long list of accolades to her name. Not only is she a Toyota Star Maker winner and a recipient of nine Golden Guitar Awards, including for collaborations with Catherine Britt, Beccy Cole and Luke O’Shea, most recently, Lyn was inducted into the Australian Country Music Hands of Fame.

Since 2015, Lyn has been focused on her trio project Bennett, Bowtell & Urquhart alongside Kevin Bennett and Felicity Urquhart. A former graduate herself, Lyn is also now the creative director of The CMAA Academy of Country Music, where she has advised and mentored hundreds of emerging artists, including Logan Hoswell whom she released the friendship anthem Sister In Song with in 2021. 

Wiser is Lyn's fourth album release, following Heart’s In The Country (2002), Secret Songs (2012) and Heart of Sorrow (2014). Lyn also released the EP Calling You, following successfully auditioning for The Voice Australia in 2017, in which she joined Boy George’s team. The EP debuted at #2 on the ARIA Top 20 Australian Artist Country Albums Chart and #13 on the ARIA Top 40 Country Albums Chart.

We’re so delighted to bring you this exclusive track by track for Wiser, as Lyn Bowtell talks us through each individual track: the creation, sentiment, and everything in between.

1. I Won’t Do That Again 

This song came quickly and late in the day after Kevin Bennett and I had already written a few songs. We were ready for a cuppa, but he started playing some interesting chords on his guitar and next thing I knew, I was singing the first lines. Sometimes songs just start writing themselves like that and you have to hurry to catch up! It didn’t take long to realise; I was singing about my struggles with letting go of the past and enjoying the ‘right here right now’. This track is a fun, up-beat take on learning from your mistakes, trusting your instincts and backing yourself 100%!
 

2. Woman To Woman

Another Kevin Bennett co-write. I took this idea to KB after seeing people get very heated and nasty online. 2020 had ‘gone to pot’ and people were venting online, frustrated, and angry with the situation and full of fear. Unfortunately, sometimes when people make those keyboard comments, they seem to forget there is a real person behind the screen receiving them. This song is about communicating with kindness and consideration. 

3. Looking For Nobody 

'‘Nobody’ loves you when you cry! If Nobody was a person, they’d be my best mate! ‘Nobody’ wants you when you lie down and admit defeat, ‘Nobody’ likes a loser...' I wrote this after being sent home from The Voice. My family and friends were still in the audience, and I was alone in the backstage area, nursing my wounds and composing the beginnings of this contrary, up-beat song! 

4. The Best Of Me

Ever had a ‘frenemy’? Someone who you know is toxic and energy diminishing but you just can’t seem to quit them? This song is about reaching my limits with that kind of person. I wrote it in the first lockdown over Zoom with Peta Cherae Peters from Townsville. We’d been threatening to write for years, but distance always seemed to be a problem, until the pandemic changed my perspective on writing online. It was actually Peta who got me started on this journey, being my first co-write of 2020 and I am very grateful, I also LOVE this song.

5. Fools Game 

This song started its life back in 2005. I wrote it with Danny Myrick during a writing trip to Nashville. I was writing for my trio BELLA and, at the time, was only writing about divorce from an observer’s perspective. We never got to record the song as BELLA, but we sang it live many times. Years have passed and I am no longer just the observer; it has a much deeper connection for me now. That ache and feeling of confusion I felt letting go of something that was no longer good for me all those years ago is present and raw in the lyrics, and the melody takes me to a sultry, smoke-filled bar whenever I sing it. 

6. Leave It To Jesus 

Endometriosis is a disease that has caused me much grief, frustration, and anger! I’ve been told many times over the years that it was ‘all in my head’, that I was ‘exaggerating’ and that ‘there’s nothing we can do for you’. This song is for the Endo Warriors, the un-heard women being misdiagnosed EVERY SINGLE DAY.

7. Love Is Cruel

'Quicksand, and you’re sinking.' Love isn’t always easy, in fact, she can be a cruel mistress. Love is Cruel has a heartbeat and an ethereal quality that takes me somewhere else whenever I sing it. Damon Morton was the perfect partner to write this with, being that he knows me so well in life and love, and Shane Nicholson perfectly captured the essence of this song in his production.

8. Maryanne The Optimist

This song began with the title, and I wasn’t sure who she was at first, but it became clear that Maryanne was a fictional character made up from the very real elements of my Mother, Grandmother and best friend. She’s a stoic force to be reckoned with, full of grace and knowledge and advice with a heart as large as Phar Lap and barista skills to match. And to my absolute joy, it turns out she DOES exist, in my hometown of Greta. In a little cafe here, there is a woman matching all these qualities, serving her customers and community with love and compassion, and making brilliant coffee and tea! When you’re passing through, grab a cuppa and say hi to Nanny Neve aka Lynneve at The Holy Cuppa, she’s sure to lend an ear. 

9. The Things That I Know Now  

It took a few years to finish this one, it began in Melbourne in 2017 and was finished on the South Coast via Maleny in 2020! It’s a letter to my younger self. If I could go back and hold her tight, I’d let her know she is, and always will be, enough.

10. Wiser 

The title track was originally to be a Bennett, Bowtell & Urquhart song but, at the eleventh hour of recording our Weed’s album, KB anointed the song an LB ‘solo’ song and I haven’t looked back since! I just love singing this and when we recorded it in the studio, I mentioned to Shane that it would make a great duet, and did he have any suggestions? After weeks of deliberation and discussion, I just came out with it, ‘Would you like to sing it?’ He seemed chuffed and said he’d be honoured, that he had only not suggested that he sing it to avoid a potential awkward moment, and ironically, I had only not suggested he sing it for the same reason! I love Shane’s take on this, and it really is a great way to conclude my album, WISER, BRAVER, STRONGER from now on.

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Follow Lyn Bowtell on her Facebook page here.