The reaction to Tall Tall Shadow (Secret City), Basia Bulat’s third full-length, has been exceedingly positive, a happy circumstance for a performer who made her thus-far moderate fame on the folk singer/songwriter circuit and is now looking to switch things up. Bulat’s first two albums, adept enough affairs, traded mostly in the light arrangements and soft dynamics of contemporary folk music. If her talents extend beyond many of her peers (notably her staggering facility on a wide range of stringed instruments from the dulcimer to the charango), her aesthetic palette as presented on her first two albums was largely traditional. Tall Tall Shadow, by contrast, opens with the stomping, gradual crescendo of the title track, an immediate announcement of increasing speed and volume that sustains for the rest of the record. It’s a sonic gamble for Bulat, who for the first time finds herself pushing her aesthetics into more energetic territory. Still, the song structures and modes are of a piece with her previous releases, making Tall Tall Shadow a furtherance rather than a divergence from her previous work. Bulat will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on her.
Bulat: Spain is one of my favourite countries in the world to visit and to tour in, and I am especially fond of the north. Ourense is a particularly beautiful city in the north of Spain, and if you wander its streets with your ears open, it won’t be long until you find Café & Pop Torgal, a very special little rock club indeed. I have played there myself, but don’t take my word for it—the club has hosted an unbelievable list of musicians, including Damien Jurado, Damon And Naomi, the Posies, Lee Ranaldo, Little Wings. I love going back there, as it really is a jewel box of a room run by very special people.
Video after the jump.
