Laura Jean

Laura Jean Engbert is an Australian singer/songwriter from Melbourne who performs and records under the name Laura Jean. Generally considered an indie folk artist, her music has ranged subtly from style to style over the course of her career. Following a pair of early EPs, she released her debut album in 2006. The lush chamber folk of Our Swan Song fared well, receiving airplay on Triple J radio, and was reissued the following year on the Scotland Yard label. She began to support larger touring indie acts across the country and even joined Irish rock band Snow Patrol on-stage during two of their Australian tours. Her second album, a conceptual piece about self-discovery called Eden Land, arrived in 2009 and ended up on many critics' Top Ten lists for the year. She did a tour supporting Bon Iver and even appeared on the popular Australian quiz show Rockwiz. After several long international tours, she retreated to the country to write material for her third album, 2011's heavier, electric guitar-based A Fool Who'll. That same year she joined frequent collaborators Biddy Connor and Jen Sholakis and the trio released an album under the name Sailor Days. She traveled to Bristol, England to record her fourth album with producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, Goldfrapp). The resulting self-titled album was released in 2014 and again saw a sonic shift for Laura Jean as she turned in an intimate, spare, largely acoustic set.