Mary’s Underground feels like a dark, warm cocoon on such a wet, windy day. Low lighting and table seating make this a very cosy gig indeed.

The support act is an interesting choice – a performance artist with a reputation for pushing the boundaries of vocal and piano-based performances. Having previously worked with John Cage, Josephine Truman has form in the Australian art music world, and flexes surprising muscle in this, her stripped-down comeback set.

Elysian Fields at Mary’s Underground. Photo © Anthony Browell

Truman’s primary accompaniment on stage is a grand piano and selected found sounds that are looped and played back through her laptop. Performing pieces inspired by time spent in COVID lockdown, Truman beds her performance in domestic sounds, bird noises and the like, and improvises throughout the show. The harsh buzzing of cicadas in the trees snaps us into focus in her opening piece, with Truman playing a minor piano stride that turns into a sweeter, major key theme. Truman begins humming through the mic, and the effect of the buzzing tone against the intensity of the cicadas and darker piano is unsettling. The pace quickly shifts when Truman begins...