Venus Is Home (LP)

Erny Belle first took the public stage in October of 2021, with the successful release of her debut single and video for 'Burning Heaven'. The singer-songwriter (Aimee Renata), seemingly appeared out of nowhere, onto our shores - leather clad, red wine in hand - stoking the flames of New Zealand's music scene.

Erny Belle made the decision to move from Auckland city to the rural township of Maungaturoto in the summer of 2019, to write and record what would become her debut album, Venus Is Home. The self-produced album is a nine song showcase of gothic storytelling - woven together beautifully, with lilting slide guitar, tremolo guitar, slow-burning melodies, and sublime, harmonised vocals.

On Venus Is Home, the lyrics shift steadfastly from sweet and earnest, to dark and satirical; toying between the artist's ruggedness and vulnerability, "Drinking on a broken heart was a bad move", Belle confesses on 'Sorry Not Sorry'. She has sparked heavy contemplation with the brutal opening line 'Nuclear Bombs'; "I'm gonna go and smoke some P and put my baby in a washing machine", striking a finger at New Zealand's meth crisis.

Venus Is Home captures a sound shaped by the landscape, with references that are distinct to Aotearoa. The album ends with the title track 'Venus Is Home', where Belle is re-centered and grounded by words of wisdom, a "glass of lukewarm cask wine", and "a feed of watercress", with her grandmother Venus. The arc of the album, gravitates towards her connection to home.