The best Christmas gift I received this year was hearing the new Basia Bulat album, Heart of My Own. I didn’t think much about it when I signed up for the review. I was mostly just drawn to her name; it was unusual and vaguely French, and it had some nice alliteration going for it. Within the space of the album's first twenty seconds, however, I smiled a wide smile that spread over my entire body as I settled down to really give this album a listen. So many times we go about our days with music playing second fiddle to all we have to do. We plug in our iPods and go. This time, however, I plugged in my iPod, and I stayed. I stayed still, I stayed riveted, and I stayed smiling. And so will you.

Bulat’s Canadian existence seems to have propelled her in the direction of a music-centered life. She began playing the piano at the age of three. By high school she was the only girl playing the upright bass. Later, she added strings in the form of guitar, banjo, ukulele and autoharp to her repertoire. And for a dash of soul, she also learned the sax and flute. Her music, like her instrument collection, has a familial feeling to it. The beats, the drums, the strings, the vocals, and the collaboration all play out to sound melancholy and jovial in the same piece.

In 2006, Bulat made a move to Montreal where she met Howard Bilerman. It was fate. Bilerman is a producer and co-owner of the famed Hotel 2 Tango recording studio (H2T). Allowing Bulat to record in the studio, in a matter of just three days, they had the foundation for her first album Oh My Darling. Bulat was unsure that the recording would turn into anything more than a wonderful collection of fond memories she created with fellow artists. However, Bilerman went to bat for Basia and her album was picked up by a British label. Causing quite a stir, it was also released in Canada, but hasn’t quite made the rounds in the US. Hopefully this new album will change all of that. According to an interview with JAM, she had the following to say about writing songs for the new record:

“This was more difficult because I didn’t want this to be like the first album. For one thing, it’s louder and more confident. We even added an electric Fender to the mix. I like making challenges for myself.  It takes a while to know what a song is about because it has a life of its own,” she explains. “It takes a while for their meaning to develop. I need an audience.”

Please, let me be that audience! Playing the album will at first shock you at how familiar it sounds. You’ll go through a list of singers that you think she’s taken inspiration from: Joni Mitchell, Natalie Merchant, Tracy Chapman, and maybe even a bit of the Gaelic touch of Sinead O’Connor. And you’ll be right, you’ll hear a bit of each of these artists, but they won’t be exact matches (and we wouldn’t want them to be). There will be something more and something exciting, and most of all...something new. The album's title track is filled with a beguiling guitar and the slight vibrato of Bulat's voice. Bring in the other strings, a steady drum, and you’ve got a lilting folk sound that clarifies just why Great Lake Swimmers wanted to open for them on tour. “Go On,” “Gold Rush,” “Sugar and Spice,” and “Heart of My Own” are all highlights in an album where it’s hard to choose any one song above another. Even “Sparrow” seems strategically placed between two rowdy songs, living up to its name. It’s delicate, shy, and spontaneous.

Basia Bulat's lyrics should be noted as the delightful creations they are. In “I’m Forgetting Everyone” she paints a story that you’re not quite sure if you should be happy or sad about, 

”One day you told me your heart was full / 
I wanted to know what the trouble was / I loved your stories for what it’s worth / 
Spun them around me to watch them grow / 
But you found a way to forget sometime ago that I was your waterfall / 
When you say that you've been good / But you don't know where you were / I'm forgetting every word / I'm forgetting everyone.”

Bulat said of the album, “I think it is at times sparse and, well, spacious with big choirs singing and then it gets really dense with spirited and rolling drums.” It’s all of these things—and much more. It’s the valleys and hills. It’s sea and sky. It’s ebb and flow. It’s a masterpiece. Thank you, Basia.

Track List:
1. Go On (3:29)
2. Run (3:02)
3. Sugar and Spice (3:23)
4. Gold Rush (3:33)
5. Heart Of My Own (3:49)
6. Sparrow (2:24)
7. If Only You (2:47)
8. I’m Forgetting Everyone (3:25)
9. The Shore (4:44)
10. Once More, For The Dollhouse (3:40)
11. Walk You Down (3:10)
12. If It Rains (2:33)