Maria McKee has been out of the proverbial spotlight for some time, her creative talents re-engaging with her first love of acting, performance and the musical tapestries that accompany such activities.Candid and passionate, shes, quite simply, had a beatific awakening and in a crescendo of prose, her new album La Vita Nuova unlocks her story, sketching out her journey that started many moons ago when she sang in her bedroom with her older brother, the late, great musical innovator Bryan MacLean. Along the way she retooled punk and country in Lone Justice, released a string of evocative and eclectic solo records, wrote chart topping hits and touched millions of people before seemingly disappearingSome of the new album sounds like modern show tunes for musical extravaganzas that are still to be penned.Little Beast is almost Disney-esque and I Should Have Looked Away has a real stagey feel to it. Title track La Vita Nouva and Let Me Forget are all beautifully written stories of relationships in various states of evolution or disrepair. And, However Worn is like a slice of American gothic.A homage to new life, the completion of La Vita Nuova saw Marias life entirely change and illustrates an important period in the artists life.Its a really personal record; all I can do is tell my story. People can find their own meaning in it, taking them deeper, perhaps, into something they need to experience, I think thats what music and art does.