| Tracy Bonham - Blink the Brightest |
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| Written by Amanda Langston | |
 Tracy BonhamBlink the Brightest [Zoe] Get it at Amazon  Since she unloaded two unremarkable discs of unfocused, largely tedious modern rock upon the world in the last decade, no one could be blamed if they relegated Tracy Bonham to the musical scrap heap in their mind (next to Right Said Fred and Ugly Kid Joe) if they think of her at all. Fortunately, the magnanimous among us can now pour her a glass of champagne, since she's pulled herself out of obscurity with a record that takes the best aspects of her talent and moves it significantly forward. Bonham, like many, is an artist who's stuck in the awkward spot between years-old radio exposure (remember "Mother Mother"?) and the unlikeliness of ever again attaining any sort of indie cred. Nonetheless, she deserves to find an audience. While Blink the Brightest does share certain similarities with her previous work -- the singer's restless vocal delivery and her songs' off-kilter arrangements and occasional bursts of aggression -- it feels like a new beginning from someone finally discovering herself. The album, her third full-length, has a solid foothold in melodic, piano-based songwriting, but explores an eclectic range of styles and moods; the swirling keyboard and strings of "And The World Has The Nerve To Keep Turning" contrasts as strongly with the slinky, percussive "I Was Born Without You" as it does with the delicate, spare "Wilting Flower." And if the woman's acquired a new fondness for ballads (there are at least four, depending on how you define that form), well, they're more in the spirit of Fiona Apple than Sarah McLachlan. Bonham co-produced the record with Greg Collins and Joey Waronker, who, along with Mitchell Froom, also serve as members of her backing band. They're a smooth, assured team, weaving the varying impulses of each number into a connected whole. Having undergone a pretty drastic musical makeover, Bonham takes smaller steps in the lyrical department. That bastard Love, as usual, offers several tracks worth of angst-ridden material; Bonham also pens a pair of tunes in praise of worthwhile loved ones ("Shine," "Eyes") and one reflecting on resilience ("Whether You Fall"). It's "Dumbo Sun," however, a swaggering, nostalgic valentine to her Brooklyn neighborhood, that stands out thanks to its deft creation of atmosphere in a few lines. "I'm freezing / I'm starving / I'm bleeding to death / Everything's fine," Bonham screeched on her debut single. I'd wager that her destitute days are probably long gone. As for her frame of mind? With work like this, it looks like she can stop lying to her mom for good. |
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