Basia Bulat - Good Advice

Having been nominated for both the Polaris and Juno music prizes, Basia Bulat is back with her fourth album Good Advice. This time with My Morning Jacket’s imperious leader Jim James on production duties and electric guitar, recorded in James’ hometown Louisville Kentucky. As the album opens with the upbeat bouncing tones of ‘La La Lie’, her voice instantly drawing comparisons to Zooey Deschanel. 

There are fleeting moments of understated pop sensibility, as tracks are filled up with danceable electronics. Once that is stripped away though, Basia’s urgent vocals and lyrics shine through, ‘In The Name Of’ being a perfect example of this. In spite of its powerful opening, there’s an exposed rawness to the track. Her chanted lyrics delivered with passion, a feeling that she’s in trouble. As the album delves deeper the instrumentation becomes increasingly scarce.

The wonderfully textured tracks remain but are playing second fiddle to Basia’s delicate and beautiful tones, the swaggering tones of the title track being case in point. Her vocals sit atop an elaborate bed of dense instrumentation, the electronics in the track creating the graceful almost psychedelic pop tone. 

As the album closes in upon its conclusion, ‘The Garden’ sees Basia making further use of these incredible sonic soundscapes. However, there is a real elegance and tenderness to the track, without over complicating it. That doesn’t mean to say it’s simplistic in any way, there is a rich sound underpinning the song, but it is delivered in a non-intrusive way allowing the vocals to shine.

Whilst this record doesn’t strike you immediately as a pop record per se, it has numerous pop qualities and these are not being dismissed, but the record downplays them well. From the soaring choral elements to the downbeat and sometimes sombre lyrics, a rich sonic tapestry holds them all together. Such that these wouldn’t be out of place on any modern pop record.

In all Good Advice is exceptionally beautiful with Basia’s ethereal vocal the real star of the show.

Good Advice is available from amazon.