I don’t usually like female artists in the rock world. I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t enjoy them as much as I do males. Perhaps it is jealousy that I can’t sing, maybe just a matter of personal taste. But there are a few “women in rock” that I enjoy. Most of them are the ones with less than perfect voices that add to a realness behind the words they are singing. Tracy Bonham is one of the women I enjoy listening to.
blink the brightest is her newest album that came out this past June. It is an album of carefully crafted songs to announce to the world that Tracy Bonham is still around—just incase the world has forgotten. And she wants to prove she is more than a woman in rock, but a musician. She plays the guitar, violin, piano, and keyboard on blink the brightest. To diversify her sound, she co-produced the album with Greg Collins (U2, No Doubt, Matchbox Twenty).
blink the brightest is full of emotionally rich songs that are backed by orchestrated melodies. Some, like “D.U.M.B.O. Sun”, are more pop hit sounding that might be an attempt to gain some more ground with a mainstream audience. But she does not lose any of her credibility with these songs as the core of who she is still shines through.
A classically trained violinist and pianist, Tracy is untrained in guitar- giving her an unpolished yet authentic style. It also helps give blink the brightest the influences from classical, rock, pop and soul to provide a lush listening experience.
The most difficult task of all? Tracy Bonham pulls off crafting uncommon love songs, such as “All Thumbs” or “And the World Has the Nerve to Keep Turning.” She shows strength and vulnerability in almost every song, which matches the fact that her voice is genuinely soulful without moments of showing off. blink the brightest balances in that world between mainstream and indie, where Tracy Bonham’s music likes to thrive. In the place where she can be melodic without being sing-songy, personal but not preachy, carefully orchestrated but not overproduced.
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Article comments
1 - RJ
I liked your review.
I haven't listened to any of TB's songs since The Burdens of Being Upright, which was released almost a decade ago. She seemed to disappear from the radar after that...