‘People Don’t Change’ Noah Cyrus & PJ Harding album review
Sometimes fate brings two people together and the end result is just wonderfully genuine music. This is almost what happened when Nashville songwriter Noah Cyrus crossed paths with Australian songwriter PJ Harding at a Bali songwriting Summer camp in 2018. I say almost because, despite the Australian contributing guitar to Cyrus’ “Good Cry”, it was another twelve months before the pair finally collaborated properly with four tracks ending up making up Cyrus’ “The End Of Everything EP” released back in 2020.
Thankfully, this wasn’t the end of their collaboration and, despite the pandemic getting in the way, the pair got their heads down and, with distance proving no barrier thanks to the wonders of the internet, the pair have created this utterly heartwarming collection of songs. “From the moment we met, I just wanted to be in a band with PJ so bad! Even though neither of us expected to be here, it’s honestly my dream collaboration, and that’s not bullshit because I knew it immediately.” states Cyrus and, listening to the warmth and feeling flowing through every note of this EP, it’s hard not to believe her. Mixing folk, Americana and bluegrass, this six-track effort is a delight to listen to. Gentle and easy on the ear, tracks like the breezy “Dear August”, and the immaculate “The Best Of You”, just wash over you with the whole EP over before you know it.
Brief it may be but, in those short six tracks, it’s impossible to ignore the watertight connection this pair have. “At heart, this is really a raw, homemade record,” PJ states. “There’s a strong folk tradition in Australia, which you can possibly feel. There’s certainly a lot of Nashville in there too. I feel like Noah is really the guiding force here. She’s the soul of this record.” An almost too-good-to-be-true collaboration, “People Don’t Change” is the kind of record you just fall in love with from the first listen. The connection is wonderful to see and their music is honest, raw, and easy-on-the-ear. In all honesty, there really is nothing to dislike about Cyrus/Harding or their music and, armed with such a winning formula let’s hope these people don’t change!
