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Avg: 4.0 (160 ratings)
- Date Released: April 30, 2007
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Label: Rough Trade
Toronto singer-songwriter makes a joyful noise
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We Say...
Toronto-born songstress Basia Balut was weaned on Sam Cooke and after-school piano lessons and her debut LP, Oh, My Darling, offers a mix of ragtime riffs and exuberant, soul-inspired melodies. Produced and engineered by Howard Bilerman (who’s worked with British Sea Power and Godspeed! You Black Emperor), Oh, My Darling is an undeniably infectious romp.
Balut’s voice is loose and rich — it’s Big Mama Thornton’s guttural yowls tempered by Regina Spektor’s self-conscious quirkiness — and she sounds so happy when she sings that it’s tough to notice much else. Even in its darkest moments, Oh, My Darling still feels bright and joyful, and tracks like “In the Night,” with its autoharp strums and twinkling piano, are fail-safe mood-lifters (accordingly, the song’s charming video features shimmying bears and a choreographed dance performed by people in skeleton pajamas). Fleeting opener “Before I Knew” pairs ukulele with hand claps, and sees Balut admitting her (obvious) affinity for singing: “The first time I fell in love/ The first time I felt my heart/ Was the first time I sang out loud/ All through the night,” she bellows — telling listeners something we would have known even if she had never bothered to spell it out. -
They Say...
Basia Bulat had already made quite a splash in Britain and her native Canada before her full-length debut, Oh, My Darling, even made it out to the United States. And it's easy to see why she's been so popular. She has an easygoing, friendly style that borrows heavily from the chick-rock craze of the 1990s, songs full of warm melodies and sweet vocals. But where someone like Natalie Merchant was able to delve into the complexities of life and love intelligently and without relying too much on sentimentality or cliché, Bulat's lyrics and instrumental lines aren't quite able to push past those barriers. Instead, it is her singing that is the most appealing thing about Oh, My Darling, an alluring, folky vibrato-filled mix of the aforementioned Natalie Merchant, Antony Hegarty, fellow Canadian Serena Ryder, and even, strangely enough, Ted Leo, whose phrasing and melodic lines she mimics in songs like "Snakes and Ladders" and "Little One." Although most of the album doesn't quite match the strength of her voice, occasionally she manages to find that space where polish meets sincerity and originality, as in "Birds of Paradise," in which the twinkling piano actually seems appropriate and is not overused. With moments of clean pop honesty, Oh, My Darling is certainly an inoffensive offering.
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| 01. |  |
Before I Knew |
1:14 |
|
| 02. | |
I Was A Daughter |
2:56 |
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| 03. | |
Little Waltz |
2:54 |
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| 04. | |
December |
2:51 |
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| 05. | |
Snakes And Ladders |
3:11 |
|
| 06. | |
Oh, My Darling |
1:25 |
|
| 07. | |
In The Night |
3:02 |
|
| 08. | |
Little One |
3:20 |
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| 09. | |
Why Can't It Be Mine |
3:31 |
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| 10. | |
The Pilgriming Vine |
4:38 |
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| 11. | |
La-Da-Da |
3:20 |
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| 12. | |
Birds Of Paradise |
4:10 |
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| 13. | |
A Secret |
2:05 |
|
13 Total Tracks, 38:37 Total Length
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Credits
- Harris Newman - Mastering // Howard Bilerman - Producer // Howard Bilerman - Engineer // Howard Bilerman - Mixing // Basia Bulat - Guitar // Basia Bulat - Autoharp // Basia Bulat - Vocals
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