Released: July 14

Eight years after releasing her most recent English-language record, Tina Arena is back in fine form on ‘Love Saves’ – her most personal body of work to date. 

Conceived following the end of her 20-year relationship and backdropped by Melbourne’s Covid-19 lockdowns, the LP sees the Australian superstar working through a period of personal turmoil and laying herself bare through her pointed lyrics and exceptional vocal performance. 

“I retreated inwards. I found solace in music. I processed my feelings the only way I know how – through my art,” she explains of the creative process. “From rock bottom, I ran the gauntlet of human emotion. I faced my own demons, emerging the other side transformed, triumphant, renewed and at peace.”

‘I forgive you / For everything’ she sings in the opening of Church – the first single to be released from the album and a plainly written ode to heartbreak, forgiveness and ultimately redemption. 

Journeying through the 11 song tracklist – 10 in English and the French-language version of Dancing On Thin Ice that closes the record – the singer-songwriter sets free her emotions, from desperation (Cry Me A Miracle) and frustration (Can’t Say Anything), to pure rage (Devil In Me), this is Tina Arena like we’ve never seen her before. 

But in riding the emotional rollercoaster there’s a sense of catharsis and come closing tracks House and the title song, Love Saves, her therapy comes full circle and the record ends with a sense of light relief that reflects the artist now, having found love and returned to happiness.

Is ‘Love Saves’ a breakup album? Absolutely. But through the whirlwind of emotions channeled into each second of the record is a yearning for happiness and strive towards the future that makes for what, in years to come, will be regarded as a seminal moment in her repertoire.

As Tina herself says: “It is a window into my soul. It is raw. It is real. It is me. I do hope you enjoy the ride, for it’s been a heartbreakingly beautiful one.”