Tracy Bonham - Blink the Brightest
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Tracy BonhamBrand: Baker & Taylor
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-06-21
Music Label: Zoe Records
Soundtracks:
- Something Beautiful
- I Was Born Without You
- And the World Has the Nerve to Keep Turning
- Eyes
- Take Your Love Out on Me
- Whether You Fall
- Dumbo Sun
- All Thumbs
- Naked
- Shine
- Wilting Flower
- Did I Sleep Through It All?
Free Music Notes for Blink the Brightest
Free Music Review: Truly Something Beautiful
Hit: 5 Stars
Tracy Bonham made her name in 1996 with "Mother Mother," her wry phone home after leaving the nest. The alternately acoustic and punkish rock Burdens of Being Upright was just as wry throughout, making as much of a trademark of Bonham's peculiar twists of phrase and witty titles than the unusual addition of her electric violin to the blend.
It has been ten years since "Mother Mother," and aside from a mostly-ignored second release in 2000 and a guest spot on a Blue Man Group album and subsequent tour, I was beginning to wonder if Tracy Bonham was gone for good. Had VH1 claimed another one hit wonder for its retrospective glances at the 90s?
As it turns out, not at all. On Blink the Brightest Tracy ditches the crashing rock crescendos but keeps the scathing wit, and adds some of the best hooks of her career. The result is a disc that is disarmingly pretty and predictably witty, if almost alarming mature.
Opener "Something Beautiful" is the sort of pop song that should be taught to aspiring musicians - downtempo, but still a head-nodder due to its simply beautiful arrangement. Every line of the song is a monster-sized hook, especially when Tracy trades in her "Mother Mother" scream for a gentle soprano to glide into its chorus.
On a first pass some of Bonham's lyrics lie a little flat, but often it's just because their theme isn't always immediately obvious. Especially after "Something Beautiful," a few of the early tracks seem a little artless or sparse on sense, but even a trio of listens will reveal each track has its requisite depth to be appreciated. Particularly, "Dumbo Sun" sounds Aimee Mannish with its steady throb of B3 organ (blooming into slightly incongruous bluesy piano later in the song), but its lyrics take a touch of untangling before they hit home.
Though her vocal range seems slightly expanded and surer, Bonham's edgy deadpan delivery is as on the mark as ever. For a sample, try "Eyes," its thumping acoustic guitar recalling her first album as well as newer unplugged rockers like Green Day's "Warning."
What might be her prettiest vocal to date is underscored by the simple piano chords of "Whether You Fall." Some of the melodic leaps and cadences lend the song an almost R&B-hit sheen, but without the eventual entrance of the other subtle instruments that seem to be foreshadowed (think Aguilera's "Beautiful") it's a little too plain-jane for its own good - like an early demo of an eventually huge hit.
"All Thumbs" and "Naked" are two more surely crafted hits, both so unassumingly catchy that they seems destined to underscore scenes on television dramas. Still, the Bonham oddness shines through on the bridge of "Naked" with a swirling bed of slightly clashing violins. "Did I Sleep Through It All" makes for a pretty closer that could easily serve an act three lament in a Sleeping Beauty revival if not for the peculiar lyrics about getting drunk at Sunday School parties.
Blink The Brightest is catchy, though perhaps a little too familiarly derivative of other cloying melodies to cement itself as all-time classic. However, what it may lack in being memorable it makes up for in being a joy to listen to (often repeatedly) - not only proof that Tracy hasn't fallen off the map, but that she is as catchy and charmingly off-beat as ever.
Blink the Brightest Poster
Tracy Bonham, the acclaimed singer and songwriter who burst onto the national stage with her #1 Modern Rock hit, "Mother Mother," is back with her most compelling album yet, 'blink the brightest,' featuring 12 of the most captivating, resonant songs she has ever written. The multi-instrumentalist, who earned a Gold record and two Grammy ® nominations for her debut CD, plays violin, piano, keyboards, guitar, and vibes on the new album. "This record goes back to my core, to the music that I really love, incorporating classical influences, rock and pop, sometimes an r&b or soul flavor," says Bonham. In search of diverse soundscapes, Bonham co-produced the album with Greg Collins, who has engineered and mixed records for U2, No Doubt, and Matchbox Twenty, among others, and Joey Waronker, who has drummed for REM and Beck.Lilith Fair darling Tracy Bonham doesn't have a lot to prove, at least not to anyone who paid attention to 2000's excellent Down Here, but on Blink the Brightest she barrels full-bore through a clutch of carefully chiseled songs as if the world had forgotten her. On some, it's with the force of a Jonatha Brooke--gentle but juiced with wisdom--while on others it's with the brewing intensity of Fiona Apple or the knowing poise of Joan Osbourne. Derivative, though, these tunes are not: "And The World Has the Nerve to Keep Turning" is a dazzling slice of outrage churned in a patient, pretty voice, and "Naked" reveals itself in bold, artful strokes. Where Bonham is at her best, though, is on the experimental-sounding "Wilting Flower." As her voice pulls away from the music and momentarily flutters adrift, you can't help suspecting that there are a lot of smart music buyers in America ready for an explosion of tightly wound female talent, and that this is their disc. --Tammy La Gorce
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