Folk rock
Coming to Canberra ... Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier. Photo: Supplied
When recording artists enjoy significant success with a particular album, they are then faced with the question of how best to follow it up.
Some acts have split or disappeared into obscurity on having to confront a terrifying reality that it won't get any better than their last offering.
History is full of such cases.
There is even a theory (just a theory) that among the many reasons Simon and Garfunkel went their separate ways after their phenomenal 1970 release Bridge Over Troubled Water was their acceptance that the song was their pinnacle and it was all downhill from there.
They couldn't match it, let alone better it.
In their case, though, it was probably much more to do with the fact that they weren't getting along any more.
But putting out a great album or song can often be bitter-sweet. The success is welcome, but then comes the fear over what to do next.
Such thoughts must have crossed the minds of acoustic duo Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier.
In 2010, the pair released their outstanding Half Man Half Woman to instant critical acclaim.
Conway has always been well-received since her days fronting 1980s rock-pop band Do-Re-Mi and her subsequent solo career.
With musical and life partner Zygier, she has ventured into deeper artistic explorations that have also done well.
Half Man Half Woman was so good that it was naturally destined to become the yardstick by which any follow-up album by them would be measured.
So this year, when Conway and Zygier finally released their much-anticipated latest instalment Stories of Ghosts, it was certainly with some degree of anxiety.
''You make records and you're always doing your best but then it's always a bit of a mystery as to how it will be received,'' Zygier says.
''This album has been received really well and we are thrilled with that. But there was never any guarantee. There never is.''
So what is so unusual about that? Surely all artists are nervous about how their work will be received by the public and the critics.
The reason the nervousness may have been a little more acute in this case, is because of the subject matter of Conway and Zygier's latest album.
Stories of Ghosts takes a look at God from a Jewish perspective, but it's an unbeliever's viewpoint.
''I was very comfortable writing and recording the songs,'' Conway says. ''I actually felt quite moved by it.
''It wasn't until we were about to release it that I got very, very nervous.
''Being Jewish is such an enormous part of our lives but not something I've discussed before. It's never come up. Why would it?
''But there is a bit of a rise in anti-Semitism and so there was some trepidation about it all.''
The album is stunning.
It is musically exquisite and the perfect way to build on their previous success.
Zygier says that while the album has attracted some anti-Semite commentary on their website and through social media, the overall response to the recording has been incredibly positive.
''Most people have accepted it for what it is and lots have really embraced it,'' he says.
''Maybe they were moved by it, too.''
Conway says that the acceptance of the record, which has such a strong and controversial focus on God, says a lot about the laidback Australian nature.
And she wouldn't deny the critics, either.
''We live in a great society - no question about it,'' she says.
''I love that people can say what they like. I hope that never goes away.''
When it all comes down to it, however, the album has been so well received because it is a brilliant piece of work.
Musically, it is flawless. Zygier is a master on pretty much any instrument that has strings and, in addition to guitars both he and Conway play throughout, there's mandolin, banjo and piano all sounding wonderfully sweet.
Both voices are at their best - Conway leads the singing to perfection.
But perhaps the record's real strength is the originality and power of the actual songs.
Weaving through the tragedies, joys, loves and humour of life's journey, the songs put a contemporary focus on many Old Testament themes.
Conway even plays the role of a very vengeful God in one song.
''That's the Old Testament God for you,'' Conway says.
''I can't relate to 'love thy neighbour'. I like 'respect thy neighbour'. Love they neighbour I can't come at.
''The Jewish God is more my scene.''
But why tackle God and religion at all?
''Willy and I are both Jewish and from strong Jewish families,'' Conway says.
''However, Willy's family was what you would call secular and mine was observant. But neither family was religious.
''They were very, very, very Jewish in both households but God didn't have much to do with it. We were kosher in my family but in Willy's they had ham sandwiches and such.
''I always thought God was interesting. But at 14 I wasn't ready to engage with it.
''I figured it would be many decades later before it was time to look at it.
''Of course, I didn't know then that I was going to be a singer-songwriter and when the time arrived for me to take a look at God, I would explore and express it through music.''
Zygier agrees, but adds his own account as to how he came to the point of wanting to explore the subject through music.
''My family was from Poland and went through the Holocaust,'' he says.
''They were defined as Jewish by that event, but they didn't believe at all.
''My brother has become very religious over the years and so I have discovered there are a lot of interesting aspects to it and a lot of meat to chew on.
''The symbolism and metaphors of religion make for good subject matter that can be quite powerful.''
Coming up with something new is always hard for a musician, and Conway and Zygier long ago vowed never to take their careers or their audiences for granted.
''We work at it,'' Conway says. ''We work hard at it.
''We think about it all the time because, at the end of the day, we're just two voices and two guitars. So you've got to make it sound interesting if you don't want it to be pedestrian.
''We're always looking for inventive ways to present it.''
Stories of Ghosts is nothing if it is not inventive.
But it is also captivating and mesmerising and a highly rewarding musical experience.
The pair are showcasing songs from the album, as well as some of the best from their back catalogue, during their current tour.
They play the Abbey in Canberra on Friday, May 10, and say they can't wait to see how the nation's capital react to their new songs.
''Canberra is my main demographic actually,'' Conway says.
''They're all university-educated and lots of women come out to our shows.
''We're really looking forward to it.''
Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier
Where: The Abbey, Nicholls
When: Friday, May 10.
Tickets: $40 (show only) or $85 (dinner and show) from theabbey.com.au
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