FOR a generation of Australian music fans Kiwi singer-songwriter Bic Runga will always be remembered for her 1997 classic Sway.
The tale of unrequited infatuation delivered with genuine fragility struck a chord on either side of the Tasman.
She was a kind of Antipodean answer to the pop-folk of Jewel and Lisa Loeb.
Sway's appeal proved so universal it even featured on the soundtrack of seminal US teen comedy American Pie.
Following Sway's success casual Australian fans might have unfairly discarded Runga to the one-hit-wonder basket, but arguably her greatest artistic achievement followed in 2002 on her second album, Beautiful Collision.
Sure, it lacked a Sway-like hit single, but Beautiful Collision was a far more ambitious effort from a songwriter of real substance.
On Sunday night Runga returned to Newcastle for the first time since 2012 to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Beautiful Collision at Lizotte's.
Decades might have passed but Runga still possesses a voice that sounds as profound as when you first heard, "Don't stray, don't ever go away," out of the car radio speakers.
The evening began with Runga solo on her acoustic guitar performing Drive, the title track from her 1997 debut album.
It was followed by Beautiful Collision's opener When I See You Smile before her partner Kody Nielson, of Mint Chicks fame, joined her on drums for Beautiful Collision's most upbeat moment Get Some Sleep.
Nielson's drumming tended to overwhelm Runga's guitar and voice at times, especially on Get Some Sleep.
However, there was a real intimacy between the two as they would share a glance or a quick word of encouragement between songs.
It felt like you were almost voyeuristically watching a performance from their family lounge room.
On the jazzier mid-album moments like Precious Things and Election Night Nielson's percussion added an interesting dichotomy to Runga's vocal.
Runga shifted between acoustic guitar and piano, but kept the stage banter to a polite minimum. The 47-year-old was happier to let her vocal and stripped-back music tell their own stories.
Once her collection of Beautiful Collision songs was completed, Runga took the opportunity to road test unreleased track Bursting Through, which suggests she has maintained her talent for songwriting.
The evening finished with Sway, and how could it not? The song might be 26 years old but it remains Runga's most simple, yet powerful song.
Exquisite melodies never age.
