Tracy Bonham Albums (4)
'In the City + In the Woods'
Release Date 4/26/2007
Tracks 11
Label Tracy Bonham
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
You can't call Tracy Bonham prolific. Blink the Brightest is her first album release in five years and merely her third in a decade, which is slow even by modern standards. Whatever the reasons for the gaps between records, whether it's artistic inspiration or contractual complications, the delays are frustrating because Bonham gets better with each record, sounding more confident and adventurous with each subsequent album. She's still stuck in the alternative '90s, in terms of her attitude and aesthetic, and Blink the Brightest could have been released in 1996, the same year as her debut, The Burdens of Being Upright. But where PJ Harvey was a touchstone on that record, this is halfway between early Liz Phair and latter-day Aimee Mann, lacking both the commercial crossover aspiration of Ms. Liz's 2003 effort and the tasteful monotony of Mann's recent work. While Bonham can be a little lyrically clunky at times, her music is rich and varied, flowing from ornate pop to pretty sighing ballads to eerie folky confessionals and ironic indie pop. As an album, it holds together better than either of her previous LPs, and it captures the late-'90s adult alternative vibe better than the latest efforts by either Phair or Mann. And while some listeners may feel that may make Bonham a little stuck in the past, the truth is that she's just out of time -- if she moved a little faster, this could have come out in 1999, where it would have fit the times a little bit better than it does in 2005, but that detracts from the fact that Blink the Brightest is her most ambitious, fully realized, and best record to date. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Tracy Bonham took a gutsy move when she decided to wait nearly five years to deliver her second album, Down Here. That prolonged time away from alt-rock's spotlight is dangerous for any nascent artist, but it was especially risky in the second half of the '90s when the genre moved from being in the limelight to being considered passé, even by critics. Perhaps she truly needed the time off to prepare an album that shook off any of the lingering PJ Harvey comparisons that her debut Burdens of Being Upright received, but it did result in the album virtually being ignored by a wide audience upon its release in the spring of 2000. It didn't deserve that fate, but it's hard to see how it wouldn't have received it given that it isn't really a commercial effort even though it is an artistic breakthrough. Teaming with producers Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake -- the duo musicians always turn to when they want to turn a new, complicated leaf -- Bonham crafted a record that takes its time, has a fairly stately pace, weird psychedelic flourishes, and little of the histrionics that characterized her first record. It's not just that the sound has changed, but Bonham's songwriting has gotten stronger; the tunes don't just boast stronger hooks, but they're more subtly crafted, flowing nicely from verse to chorus to bridge and back again. Though it occasionally sounds a little out of time -- it's a record that would have made more sense in 1997 than in 2000 -- Down Here is a record that reveals much of its strengths only with repeated listens, and that's part of the problem. Apart from the hardcore fans that have stuck with her for five years, not many people will give it a chance. If they do, they'll find that it's a smart, assured, and distinctive second effort that is a quantum leap past her debut. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'The Burdens of Being Upright'
Release Date 3/19/1996
Tracks 12
Label Island
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Classically trained violinist Tracy Bonham emerged from Boston with her first major-label release, The Burdens of Being Upright. The album yielded a significant radio hit with the seething message "Mother Mother," which leads off the album. It raises the bar for the rest of the record and, although she doesn't quite match it, The Burdens of Being Upright is a riveting introduction. Bonham and bandmates tear through tracks like "Navy Bean" and "Bulldog" with energetic punk abandon. Bonham's lyrics are intelligent and her voice is powerful, sounding eerily like Liz Phair on songs like "Kisses," "Sharks Can't Sleep," and "Every Breath." ~ Tom Demalon, All Music Guide
