In the Night – Basia Bulat
Basia Bulat‘s record came out last year, but I never really got around to giving it a listen until recently. It turns out to be one of the most comfortable, warm, and hummable records in a while. I’m a sucker for this sort of backyard strumming sound (particularly when ukuleles are incorporated), but she has a voice that makes this something a little more special. It’s breathy, sultry, and just a little bit dusty.
A sepia-tinged memory of your childhood home. It’s close to your heart – you came from here after all – but you also know that memory is far from perfect. If you actually stepped back in, you’d be put off by how low the ceilings are, you’d think was the fireplace really over there? and you’d feel just a little bit sad that real life has rudely interfered with a perfectly happy illusion.
Or, to put it another way: you remember the first time you heard 10,000 Maniacs, how Natalie Merchant’s voice struck you as incredibly intimate but simultaneously far removed? Yeah, listening to Basia Bulat reminds me of watching MTV unplugged as a 12 year old kid and wondering just what exactly was going on.
Oh, My Darling came out last year, but didn’t get a US release until this year.