Basia Bulat: Oh, My Darling

[Benjamin A. Vazquez U.E.]

Oh, My Darling

Artist: Basia Bulat
Album: Oh, My Darling
Year: 2007
CD#: 43257 (42783 is missing a track)
Canadian? Yes
Best Tracks: #1, #3, #5, #6, #7, #8
Comments Overall: lyrical, folksy, beautifully orchestrated, a woman with a captivating voice, scarcely a dud track, most tracks end early.

1. Before I Knew, 1:15 - short, folksy, simple, eight seconds of silence on the end of the track
2. I Was A Daughter, 2:56 - starts slowly, rises to be rapid and energetic, breaks then fades out, six seconds of silence at the end
3. Little Waltz, 2:55 - quiet, mournful, a cloudy day alone in Paris, eight seconds of silence at the end
4. December, 2:52 - starts softly, melodic, heartbreaking, fades out, nine seconds of silence at the end
5. Snakes And Ladders, 3:11 - upbeat, energetic, breathtaking, possibly the best track on the CD, seven seconds of silence at the end
6. Oh, My Darling, 1:26 - beautiful and melodic, eight seconds of silence at the end
7. In The Night, 3:00 - incredibly energetic, danceable, another contender for the CD's best track, seven seconds of silence at the end
8. Little One, 3:21 - soft, quiet, elegant, rises to majestic heights, eight seconds of silence at the end
9. Why Can't It Be Mine, 3:31 - upbeat, lying on the beach with a hand drum, six seconds of silence at the end
10. The Pilgriming Vine, 4:39 - warm if faintly heartwrenching, some excellent instrumental sections, fades out, seven seconds of silence at the end
11. La-Da-Da, 3:21 - begins with a hand drum, voice and violin, elegant and heartwrenching, beautiful, fades out, nine seconds of silence at the end
12. Birds Of Paradise, 4:11 - sad, elegant, wonderful vocals, eight seconds of silence at the end
13. A Secret, 2:06 - quiet and lovely, ten seconds of silence at the end

Note I: Also posted under Indie.
Note II: Pronounced "Basha Boolat".
Note III: Winner of CHRW's 2007 Local Album of the Year award.

Website: basiabulat.com/
MySpace: myspace.com/basiabulat
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BasiaBulat/
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basia_Bulat
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh,_My_Darling
Twitter: twitter.com/BasiaBulat?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

[Benjamin A. Vazquez U.E.]

This London, Ontario-based singer-songwriter is both a neo-madrigal folkie and a muted soul whisperer; at its best, her debut album for Rough Trade is an attractive admixture of aristocratic lilt and snapping rhythm.

The cover image of Basia Bulat's debut record tells you all you need to know about what's contained inside. Then again, maybe it doesn't tell you anything. Bulat is starkly front and center, donning a floppy hat and a youthful Mona Lisa expression, the sort onto which one might project any number of emotions, feelings, or personalities. A sense of aloof confidence is present, butting up against a naïve cuteness. The music on the disc under the picture shape-shifts as much, at times offering a neo-madrigal folkie or a muted soul whisperer; elsewhere, a lavender-colored soft-folk puree-blender shows up. Bulat further vacillates, like her countrywoman Feist, between little-girl sweetness and womanly wisdom, yet her specific blend of the two sensibilities more closely recalls Lilith Fair than Let it Die.

Bulat's voice is a soft, smoky coffeeshop flutter, most prominently recalling mid-Nineties AAA queens Natalie Merchant and Sarah McLachlan. Ergo, much of Oh, My Darling rings with the same sort of baroque femininity those women mastered. Several songs are coated in a thick lacquer of piano and bowed strings, most prominently "Snakes and Ladders", an attractive admixture of aristocratic lilt and snapping rhythm which rates as one of this year's most soundtrack-ready singles. The song's anxious piano motif and string section combination could score a melodramatic montage where a woman's integrity remains intact despite the numerous obstacles in her way. Within the current atmosphere of music promotion, that equates to "radio-friendly."

On occasion, however, Bulat's tunes rely a bit too much on ambience, with a couple of Darling's songs falling back into a billowing, wispy pastiche-- "Bulat With Butterfly Wings", as it were. "December", for instance, relies too much on a watery melody to carry the song's wordless middle. Its hopeful refrain, "I'll hang on/ Even though you're gone," doesn't resonate as especially original, either. "Little One" also treads dangerously close to MOR territory, a firm drumbeat doing its best to tether the song's generic flutter.

Darling's most memorable moments come when the frippery is most restrained, and the romantic sentiment follows suit. The timorous "Little Waltz" ("I learned how to dance, but I never showed it to you") only allows its string quartet to enter after the first verse, without chewing much scenery. "I Was A Daughter", which starts out with droplets of piano and "Sinnerman"-style handclaps before blossoming into a gentle torrent of violins and rapid-fire drumming, then recedes and reappears, is another example of Bulat's knack for curious and surprising arrangements.

She's keen with the folky minimalism, as well; the title track is simple, unadorned feeling, escorted by only acoustic guitar, some multi-tracked harmonies, and eventually a harmonica. The too-short stage-setter "Before I Knew" is Darling's best moment: handclaps, a ukulele, and some luxuriant harmonies surround Bulat, inching toward a folksy recollection of the Concretes' or El Perro del Mar's tranquil melodicism. It's gone, just like "Darling", in just over a minute-- simple, beguiling, and hopefully a sign of what's to come from this promising songwriter in the future.

pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10538-oh-my-darling/

[Benjamin A. Vazquez U.E.]

Have they been putting something in the water over in Canada in recent years? Not so long ago only known for Maple Syrup, Mounties and Bryan Adams, a whole host of outstanding artists have recently broken through from Montreal, Ontario and Toronto.
So, to add to the list of Arcade Fire, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, The Stills, Metric, Broken Social Scene and so on, we can now add singer/songwriter Basia Bulat.
Bulat isn’t your normal ‘earnest female singer/songwriter’ type though. Sharing a producer with the Arcade Fire and recording her debut album in their studio means that comparisons are perhaps unfair but unavoidable – there’s the same sort of ‘what on earth is this?’ feeling that you probably had when you first heard Funeral.
This is a more initiate, less epic kind of sound though. Accurately described by some as ‘chamber-pop’, Bulat’s marvellously bittersweet little gems are enhanced by delicate string arrangements, urgent drumming and lovely little touches like Katie Saunoris’ flute cameo on The Pilgriming Vine.
The songs here are so unusually put together that they become almost addictive – the brief opening track Before I Knew being a case in point. Beginning with a simple ukulele, it incorporates handclaps and harmonies and is finished in just over a minute. The fact that it leads into the wondrous, Tilly And The Wall-like percussion heavy standout of I Was A Daughter just makes it all the more listenable.
Then there’s Bulat’s voice – sometimes fragile and whispy, and at other times strong and passionate, she can sound heartbreaking on the samba arrangement of the aching Why Can’t It Be Mine, or urgent and imploring on the fantastic Snakes And Ladders. The latter in fact is possibly one of the tracks of the year, mixing plinking piano chords and a haunting string section to create something quite beautiful.
Maybe Oh My Darling won’t be for everyone – it’s firmly in the ‘cult’ bracket and it’s difficult to see her breaking into the mainstream. Some may find the atmosphere a bit cloying or twee at times, but it’s refreshing to hear a songwriter unafraid to take risks and not settle for the ‘housewives favourite’ spot on the Ken Bruce show.
In fact, there’s not a duff track on here, which is remarkable for one so unhyped. By the time that ukulele reappears on the closing track of A Secret, the first thing you’ll want to do is play the album again. One of the debuts of the year.

www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/basia-bulat-oh-my-darling