 "Photo: N/A")
There’s something a bit wintry about Basia Bulat’s Heart Of My Own, as if she’s taken a piece of her native Ontario and woven it into the threads of her songs. The album, Bulat’s second, has a vastness to it that transcends the otherwise standard singer-songwriter fare.
A wide variety of instruments appear on the album, from horns to auto-harp (which, in case you don’t know, is that Nevada-shaped thing with about 40 strings common in folk and bluegrass music). But in spite of the album’s somewhat glacial feel, it is never dark.
Rather, Heart of My Own feels more like a sunny day in January. Bulat’s voice is quite remarkable: a powerful alto with an unrelenting vibrato. Her delivery is almost urgent, bright, but not warm. Even on softer songs like “Sugar And Spice,” her voice has a healthy portion of backbone to it. There’s nothing delicate or breathy about Bulat’s vocals.
Most of the album includes an understated string section, distant sounding acoustic guitars and autoharp. A handful of the album’s songs, like the slightly country-flavored “If Only You” feature horns and a twangy banjo.
Perhaps the most sophisticated aspect of the album is that none of these instruments are ever overpowering.
They’re not gimmicks, they’re simply accompaniment; Bulat’s vocals are always the centerpiece of the songs. The result is that one hears her voice in various landscapes, not various costumes.
The songs on Heart Of My Own are fairly straightforward, many employing a verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structure. But despite a somewhat predictable layout, most of the songs are catchy and engaging, like the album’s opening track “Go On.”
The song “The Shore,” positioned in the final third of the album, strays from Bulat’s more typical song structure. The song begins with deep and pulsing autoharp chords overlaid with a simple and yet haunting melody.
Bulat then adds her voice to the mix and a small choir of backing vocals. The structure is free-form and allows the song to build on itself.
Bulat can write a good hook though. The title track demonstrates her confident, but non-aggressive writing style.
The singer saves one of the prettiest songs on the album for last. “If It Rains” is a gentle and hopeful pop song. The lyrics are sort of a throwaway, but the song is sweet and simple and leaves a good taste in your mouth.
The album loses a few points for not feeling especially cohesive. The song order feels a little arbitrary, but most of the songs are good individually
.
While a couple of the tracks sound a little too much alike, there is enough variation overall to keep the album from feeling repetitive.
In general, Heart Of My Own is a satisfying listen. The album is unpretentious and accessible, without feeling played out. Bulat has an interesting and distinctive voice, an impassioned delivery and a comfortable songwriting style.
The album’s understated orchestration complements the strong vocals. Heart Of My Own may not be the most fascinating album you’ll hear in 2010, but it may be one of the more likeable.
Find ample tracks from Basia Bulat’s heartfelt and wintry new album Heart of My Own from Rough Trade and Secret City Records at our website www.loyolaphoenix.com. Also, Basia has an upcoming show here in Chicago at Schuba’s Tavern, 3159 N. Southport Ave. at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Sorry youngins, the show is 21 and over and tickets are $10. Contact Schuba’s at (773) 525 2508. Tickets also available for purchase online at www.schubas.com.
Be the first to comment on this article!