First Post!

Basia Bulat
Heart of My Own
Rough Trade; 2010

Hi friends,

Last night I decided to create a blog. It's primarily going to be a music and arts blog, I am going to do album reviews and post (hopefully) monthly mix playlists starting in April. But I'll have some other stuff too, probably some essays, short stories, crappy poetry, things like this. For my first post I wanted to point you all in the direction of my favorite album of 2010 thus far.

That record, from Canadian singer songwriter Basia Bulat, is Heart of My Own. It was released in the US on the Rough Trade label in late January. I thoroughly enjoyed her first album Oh, My Darling, which came out in 2007, and I would by lying to you if I said I wasn't thrilled to see that album's quaint, 1:12 opening track, “Before I knew” used in a 2009 Subaru commercial. You know the one: some chill alt-bro guy misplaced his sunglasses, so he and his girlfriend retrace the steps of their weekend camping/surfing/whatever trip, only to discover that in the end the sunglasses were on the guy's head all along. Not sure how that relates to the lyrical content of "Before I knew" in any way, and in that regard they should have picked some turd-rag Jack Johnson track instead, but Basia's is a brilliant little song that I was glad to hear on TV.

One reason I didn't mind hearing her track in a commercial is that, in the opinion of this newly-minted blogger, Basia Bulat is one of Canada's most egregiously underrated artists. Oh, My Darling, with its endearingly idiosyncratic, folk-waltz vibe, garnered her some attention: a Polaris Music Prize nomination and some love from indie-savvy NPR reviewers. On Heart of My Own, Bulat smooths out the edges and expands on that sound-- the result is everything I was looking for in her sophomore effort.

Basia Bulat has a voice that sets her apart from any other singer-songwriter I can think of. It is robust, unapologetic, has a sometimes dualistic quality of being at once thunderous and whispering, as on the track "Go On. On the title track "Heart of My Own," and throughout the album, Bulat does not shy from exposing her own fears and flaws in a manner of taste uncommon to many singer-songwriters. Take a listen to "Heart of My Own," and one can see why the album cover's picture-- Bulat walking on the side of some gravely, presumably Canadian road, rolling verdant hills and overcast sky in the background-- seems to fit so well with title track itself: the picture and the song are the same artistic sentiment expressed via two different mediums.

Basia Bulat - "Heart of My Own" (youtube link)

Hear of My Own is an immensely diverse album, instrumentally and musically. An extremely talented drummer, Basia’s brother Bobby expertly heads up the rhythm section, providing at times exactly the desired kick to keep the album steadily rolling along. The album also boasts an organic mix of banjo, violin, cello, dulcimer, horns, foot-stomping, piano, organ, etc. On sparse tracks like “Hush,” (no instruments, just soulful singing and foot-stomping here) or the haunting “The Shore,” with very little but carefully arranged instrumentation, the power of Bulat’s voice is spotlighted. The album has its softer, folksier tracks, like “Sugar and Spice,” “Once More For the Dollhouse,” and “I’m Forgetting Everyone,” all of which are more akin to Nick Drake than the inevitable Joanna Newsom comparisons. Present here too is the waltz-y folk sound of her first album, like on “Go On” and “Run.” One of the album’s standout numbers, “If it Rains,” much like on “Hush,” has a compelling gospel feel. In many of these tracks, I think it could be said that a “Diamonds and Rust” era Joan Baez influence is evident.

The album’s more upbeat tracks are kicked along by the drums, like on the galloping “If Only You,” with its horn section and clunking piano, or “Gold Rush.” “Walk You Down” is an all-out folk-rock track that would not be out of place on an Okkervil River record, and you really picture Will Sheff singing this song perfectly. It has swirling Doors-ish keyboards, and choir-sound harmonizing on the wonderful if not obligatory “ooohs” and “ahhhs.”

Basia Bulat excels brilliantly in the realm of many of today’s fine Canadian pop folk artists, and Heart of My Own is an album that rewards and encourages multiple listens. Every track here is meticulously and affectingly arranged, with poignant, introspective lyrics. Bulat can be self-lacerating without straying into overwrought melancholy. She and her band put their all into the craft of songwriting and arrangement and it shows. It’s an album that successfully traverses the broad spectrum of traditional to modern folk music. I haven’t stopped listening to it yet this year, and I would recommend Heart of My Own to just about anyone.

Basia Bulat on Myspace

Buy It (amazon)
Try It (my file)