Six years since the release of Humour and the Misfortune of Others, soul singer Hollie Smith shows she can slow jam (“In Love Again”), two-step (“Holding On”), and flex with the best (“Lady Dee,” “Poor on Poor”). The guitar is the album’s spirit animal, lending Water or Gold a rocking edge. ”Helena” is its emotional centrepiece—a song written for the late Helena McAlpine on the occasion of her wedding. Smith gives a tremendous vocal performance that seals her reputation as an outstanding Kiwi singer, while memorializing her close friend. The album closes with “Dream”, which ushers the listener out on a warm and hopeful cloud, like finishing a great novel.