I’m just catching up on my musical interests from the last ten years or so, and one of the songs that stuck in my head from 1996 was “Mother Mother” by Tracy Bonham. Her hit single nabbed her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and the album, The Burdens of Being Upright, was nominated for Best Alternative Music Performance. The single itself seems very reminiscent of Alanis Morissette: lots of angry, angsty lyrics, the screaming chorus, and the crunchy guitar sound. It would be pretty easy to dismiss Bonham as a musician with a great single, but little else to offer the serious listener.
But there was something else that stuck in my mind: another single by Tracy Bonham, from the same album. “The One” is equally catchy, and has some nice distorted guitar work. But this song isn’t nearly as angry, and there’s something else…is that a violin I hear? Now that I think about it, I seem to remember her playing the violin in the video. The single seemed different enough that I got that old feeling I used to have, where I knew that if I bought the entire album, I wouldn’t be disappointed.
In short, I have been tremendously impressed by the album. It turns out that besides singing, she is also an accomplished violinist. (I am always impressed by a singer who is also a classically-trained musician.) But in spite of the fine instrumentation, the real outstanding element is her beautiful voice, which is alternately melodious and sensual. Tracy Bonham has the passion of Alanis Morissette (without the bitterness), the introspection of Aimee Mann, and the sultriness of Fiona Apple. It’s hard to do justice in a song-by-song review, especially in this era of iTunes’ 30-second previews. Besides the two singles already mentioned, you have other catchy, driving songs like Navy Bean or Bulldog. But you also get the mesmerizing, lyrical tracks like Tell It to the Sky or 30 Seconds or Sharks Can’t Sleep, with their slightly odd chord progressions and haunting harmonies. I’ll have to listen to the whole album a few more times to get a real feel for it, but so far, it holds together extremely well.
This may seem like overkill for an artist whose last hit single is almost ten years old. As it turns out, my purchase was a little more timely than I had previously thought: Following her 1996 release, she had another album in 2000, Down Here, and just released her third full album in June of 2005, Blink the Brightest. (She even has a couple of songs with the Blue Man Group, if you’re in the mood for a little electronica.) Apparently I just missed her appearances on The Tonight Show and The Late, Late Show. And wouldn’t you know it, she also has a blog! It’s nice to get into an artist from a while back, and find out that she’s still making music, albeit slightly below the radar. At this point, I’m really looking forward to delving into her subsequent albums.
Update: If you want more than a 30-second sample, you can download full-length MP3s of some songs at her official site. These are low-bitrate versions, but you should be able to get a feel for her musical style. Listen to “Mother Mother” at the very least.
