Cementing herself in the upper echelons of Australian singer-songwriters, Gena Rose Bruce navigates emotional turmoil, fragility, death and honesty on Deep Is The Way, her second “lovely and affecting record” (MOJO – 4*s), out now via Dot Dash / Remote Control Records.

Last year a suffocating black fog pursued the Melbourne musician through the night’s depths – a recurring dream brought on by the passing of her partner’s mother and pandemic instability.

Deep Is the Way chronicles Bruce’s fraught path back into the light, processing death and inner turmoil to emerge with a newfound state of strength and resilience.

Deep Is the Way is Bruce’s outlet for the unrelenting emotions; but writing only gets you part of the way. It’s only through embracing the strength in her long-term relationship – found on the delicate piano tribute “Love” – and relishing nature’s therapeutic qualities through a newfound love of gardening, which she is now studying too, that Bruce has found herself back literally on solid ground. Investing time in life’s cycles of renewal and growth gave the album its name, and the context for its pivotal title track. “Working with your hands, in dirt and mud, is just a really beautiful feeling”.