Review Summary: Despite a formula that grows thin, Basia Bulat's delicate folk pop debut shows considerable promise.
It is a particularly promising time to be a female singer-songwriter. Even if many of these songstresses tend to hold strong to their acoustic guitars and not stray far from a universally accessible pop style with at least one song worthy of radio’s grab, there is enough diversity and individuality among these increasingly popular musicians to garner them specific fanbases reflecting their own musical directions. Among popular female singer-songwriters today, there is choice: the super-polished piano stomp of Sara Bareilles, the swaggering blue-eyed soul of Duffy, the organic folk pop of Scotland’s KT Tunstall, the guitar plucking girl anthems of Colbie Caillat, and so on. One more, under-the-radar singer-songwriter eyeing such fame is Ontario’s Basia Bulat.
Bulat released her full length debut
Oh, My Darling in 2007 with a re-release in 2008 adding the song “In the Night.” Like many of Bulat’s big sisters in the mainstream pop music world, her songs are refined and polished gorgeous with strong acoustic underpinnings. However, there is plenty to her style to tell her apart. For the most part,
Oh, My Darling is a subdued affair with warm melodies often supported by lush classical instrumentation from piano, string instruments, and Bulat’s very own autoharp, not to mention the old acoustic guitar standby. Her upbringing on classical training and a love of oldies radio staples like the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Motown hitmakers like Sam Cooke are quite evident here, as she blends pop melodies with orchestrated, mood-focused instrumentation.
The album begins on its most common mood of upbeat melody and musical accents accompanying her with “Before I Knew.” The song features a wonderful, light melody on the autoharp, a clapped beat, strong backing vocals, and the debut of Bulat’s voice, which is smooth, clear, and frankly angelic. It is a shame then that the song breaks off long before you want it to, timing out at just over a minute, thereby unwisely treating what is one of the album’s best songs as a purposed introductory piece. Nevertheless, the next track “I Was a Daughter” marks the return of warm, beautiful orchestration (and even more clapping) as well as a fast drum beat, indicating Bulat’s intentions to inject some percussion back bone into her songs here and there.
“Little Waltz” stands out as one of the best songs on
Oh, My Darling, with just enough accenting orchestra and strict guitar to let Bulat’s voice really stand out. Along with an understated yet beautiful chorus, Bulat demonstrates her acumen in songwriting, remarking “You and I, we make a grand salute / Stare at each other like lost little birds across the room.” Following the influence of Nick Drake on the easy-flowing “December,” Bulat then turns up the pressure again with a quickened pace and melodramatic mood that still yields one of the more positively memorable songs here. The straightforward sunshine folk of “Oh, My Darling” is pleasant but forgettable, being another short song clocking in at a minute and a half.
“In the Night” is one of the highlights of the album and is probably her most well known song at the moment. With bombastic drumming and a soaring chorus, “In the Night” is when Bulat really breaks through the subdued nature of her other songs, something that she should probably strive to do more often. Afterwards, Bulat retreats back to more familiar territory on “Little One,” which unfortunately meanders with an ambiguous structure.
“Why Can’t It Be Mine” finds Bulat dabbling in the blues with soothing results. However, the rest of the album finds Bulat’s repeated recipe for delicate folk songs wearing a bit thin. Save for some nice harmony singing on “The Pilgriming Vine” and interesting use of bongos on “La-Da-Da,” the last four songs are rather forgettable.
I have always thought that album frontrunners have a distinct advantage over songs towards the tail end of the album considering that early songs are enjoyed before a listener may find the style growing old or boring, leaving later songs to be less engaging unless the artist adds enough intriguing elements to keep the ears focused, if you will. Unfortunately, Bulat’s debut does not do this, and the album trails off and lending it a dragging feeling that is never good, and especially not for a fairly short album time wise as this, clocking in at 38 minutes.
Nevertheless, there are some considerably strong elements to
Oh, My Darling that are constants throughout the album: exquisitely beautiful orchestration, superb vocals from Bulat, and a generally pleasant, relaxing mood that retains its heart and soul. As far as aspiring female singer-songwriters go, Basia Bulat has strong potential for growth as an artist. However, whether or not her delicate folk pop can break into the mainstream is a question best reserved for the next album she has in store for us, if or whenever that may happen.
