Sarah Blasko - CountingSheep

Fri 3rd Feb, 2006 in Music Reviews

Sarah Blasko is arguably Australia’s best female singer-songwriter, and definitely one of the most hardworking. 2005 saw her debut release album The Overture And The Underscore hold Australia in awe, while regular tours and festival shows proved that she had what it took in the live arena, as well as in the studio. Blasko has now released one of the crowd favourites, Counting Sheep, as her new single, as its as strong as anything that has come before it.

This soulful, heartbreaking song opens with a soft synthesiser setting the beat, before Blasko’s voice gently flows into the song. Drums, acoustic guitar and piano soon join in as the song hits full stride by the first chorus, which features a beautiful piano melody after line. The lyrics are standard Blasko fare, beautiful and thoughtful, with the key moment coming, as it should, during the chorus.

“No surprise that you found yourself in too deep,
Blame your checkered past for your lack of sleep,
Make sure you count your blessings while you’re counting,
While you’re counting sheep.”

This is another stellar song from Blasko’s repertoire, and should get decent airplay on radio, although its probably not hook-heavy enough to have any impact on the charts. Blasko will soon be returning to the studio, and if future releases are of the same quality as Counting Sheep, she will have locked in her position at the top of the singer-songwriter pile for years to come.