Kasey Chambers readies first CD in four years

Sugar Hill Records will put out "Little Bird" on July 13. The 14-song collection came from new material written within a two-week period in February 2010.

Recorded a month later in brother Nash's Foggy Mountain Studio, "Little Bird" features The Millionaires: John Watson on drums, Jeff McCormack on bass, Shane Nicholson, Jim Mogine (Midnight Oil) and Kasey's dad Bill Chambers playing all guitars and stringed instruments. Guest vocalists were Missy Higgins, Camille Te Nahu and Patty Griffin.

"These guys are some of my favorite musicians and singers, including the backbone of my touring band, so there is a familiarity and intuitive understanding of where this music should go," Chambers said. "When the songs are that fresh, there's something magical about taking them into the studio and bringing them to life, right then and there."

The new album, which is already certified Gold in Australia, represents a diverse spread of musical styles.

"I started remembering how I felt when I wrote Not Pretty Enough and comparing it to how I feel now. I was wondering how that sentiment would come out if I revisited it," she said. "I still have moments like that, of feeling insecure and unsure, but I feel differently about that now. I feel stronger and more powerful, not willing to compromise so much. This record is like the strong, secure version of Not Pretty Enough."

"I don't think I've ever been so excited by a bunch of songs. They all came out completely differently. I was back in that same frame of mind that I had for the early albums. And it made me feel so confident. I was so absolutely in love with all these songs, I could not wait to make them come to life."