On the CD cover Natalie D-Napoleon stands on a sea shore with her hands clasped in front of her. She looks defensive and the image contrasts with the one on the CD itself where her arms are wide and her head is raised. This more open pose ties in with the spontaneous ‘What the hell!’ decision to record this set of songs which were mostly written on the front porch of her cottage in Santa Barbara, California where she lived for a decade. Up to then, D-Napoleon had all but given up on music, choosing to focus on writing poetry instead.
She has since returned to her roots in Fremantle, Western Australian so the album coincides with big changes in her life.
The full album title is 'You Wanted To Be The Shore But Instead You Were The Sea'. This suggests a degree of uncertainty and the song of this name expresses the realisation that a house is not always a home. The shore can be viewed as a place of relative safety whereas the vastness of the sea invites a limitless and more precarious freedom.
The 12-song album was recorded live in an old wooden chapel with a single microphone. It features James Connolly on bass and co-producing, Doug Pettibone (guitar, pedal steel, mandolin) and Dan Phillips (piano and percussion).
This is mature and mellow Americana much in the style of Emmylou Harris with a underlying sense of self reflection, yearning and fatalism. The melodies are pleasant enough but it’s all a bit too restrained and understated to make a deeper impression.
