Basia Bulat's 2008 album Oh My Darling was a stunner and a surprise. Canadian singer-songwriter and a big floppy hat on the album cover--two strikes, right? Oh My Darling sounded like a throwback to some AM radio station in Nova Scotia (that's in Canada), and its great achievement lies in the fact that you want to hold onto its songs and hoard them like keepsakes, but the singer never lets herself sound precious. It's a simple record, starting with handclaps and a uke on "Before I Knew" (ninety seconds long and it could get stuck in your head for days), meandering through gospel territory on "Hem of His Garment" and finally striking a balance on the kind of folk songs are either about love or nature or God or destruction or muddy boots ("The Pilgrimming Vine").
Now she's back with Heart of My Own and judging from the album cover, we're in similar terrain (Canada). And judging from this beautifully recorded performance of heartbreaker "The Shore" that's a good thing. It ain't broke. Basia Bulat, everybody.
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