Tuesday 26 January 2010
QBiM SPiNS: Basia Bulat, Heart of My Own
(photo: Bobby Bulat)
Sometimes the best way to improve on a winning formula is not to change very much at all. That’s what my ears are hearing when I listen to Heart of My Own, the sophomore release from Basia Bulat (now on Secret City Records). The follow-up to Oh, My Darling, her Polaris nominated debut, picks up where the previous record leaves off, with the focus on Bulat’s distinctive timbre and sweet melodies. Most of the musicians who played with her on the first album are back, as is producer Howard Bilerman, so there’s similarities a-plenty between the two albums, but where Heart of My Own sets itself apart from its predecessor is the burgeoning sense of grandiosity and ripening of Bulat’s songs. On album number two, things feel just that slightly bit more polished, confident, and grand. If Oh, My darling, were the tentative first steps of an artist finding her legs, Heart of My Own is the confident stride of a songwriter and musician who’s put one foot in front of the other enough times now that it’s all second nature.
Bulat has spent a lot of time on the road between now and her last record, and the songs here have that road- and world-weary flavour of one whose experienced a lot in a short period of time and had to process it all quickly. “Gold Rush” is evidence of a new skepticism and reserved emotions, even as she tells us that “this is the story of the one you lost/And I want it to run over your love.” All in all, Heart of My Own is a most appropriately named album, for in performing it, Bulat has not succumb to any pressure to conform, confound, or compromise her art. She has moved into the next phase of her career a voice and heart of her own.
MP3: Basia Bulat “Gold Rush”
Mysapce: Basia Bulat
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 11:30 am and is filed under QBiM SPiNS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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