Customer Reviews

Beautysleep

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tanya Donelly's latest effort is a moody triumph. After taking a break following her solo debut - 1997's underrated Lovesongs for Underdogs - Donelly returns after the birth of her first child with an introspective album that combines sharp, insightful lyrics and some of her best singing ever. And fans of Tanya from her Belly and Throwing Muses days needn't worry - she still rocks (just a bit quieter these days, like many of us). Come the end of the year, this will be on numerous top ten lists - but don't wait until then to pick up a copy.

Tanya Donelly writes terrific songs. Always underrated, whether as second fiddle in Throwing Muses or in her own band Belly, Donelly is a quirky but poetic lyricist, and her melodic sense is infallible, melding Beatlesque tunes with a touch of Goth, country, and college rock.

Beautysleep is not Donelly's strongest work, but it remains intriguing. As its title implies, this is Donelly's most mellow album yet, but she retains her trademark playfulness and colourful lyrics, and her instrumentation remains quite innovative. In fact, at times, Donelly exhibits a new and not-so-welcome tendency to overuse non-musical effects. But the songs are so well written and so assured that they are still highly enjoyable.

The one weakness of current Donelly material is her singing, and it's what caused her work to become so overlooked ever since Belly's Star album in 1993. On Star, Donelly relied mostly on a strong, even midrange that got across the strength and resilience of her songwriting remarkably well, and provided counterpoint to her quirky songwriting. Starting with Belly's sophomore album King, Donelly has increasingly lapsed into an overly girlish, sugary chirp that really pushed the sweetness factor of her music into overdrive. On Beautysleep, it's often grating to watch her go into the "baby's coo" mode of singing. It's a weakness I hope to see her address, because her music deserves better. A rediscovery of her rockier edge would also be nice. For now, though, it's still great to see Donelly working.

Fifteen years after the first Throwing Muses offering and ten after the unexpected success of the spooky fairytales of Star , Tanya Donelly finds herself in the awkard place of not having much of an audience to adress to . Even so , she seems to be happier than ever . " Thank you thank you my darling girl and her dad my true blue dream of sky " she declares on the sleeve of her latest offering . She's the mother of a little girl and wife to bassist Dean Fisher now . She doesn't seem to care at all about topping the charts or getting covers to flashy music magazines. Maybe that's why Beautysleep is her most haunting , magical album yet .

There are so many discreet details about this album's songs which makes them so special and exciting to listen to : child-voices on " Life Is But A Dream " , a choir piece at the end of " The Wave " , tender melancholy wordplay on " So Much Song " . Donelly has a sensitive soul with a rich darkside and even though " The Night You Saved My Life " is a perfect indie-pop track which could have easily put her back on the radio top ten , it's when she sings those mystical lullabies when she's most affecting like " Moonbean Monkey " and the ethereal " Another Moment " , a melody about finding self-confidence .

We fans will scream that this is her best work yet and one of the best records of the last few years by a female artist and it's been eventually ignored but there's a line on " I'm Keeping You " which seems to perfectly describe what Donelly thinks about her sudden stardom followed by media indifference "...there's something that you learn on a tight-rope / just outside the spotlight there's a big net waiting for " . The girl who once gave us " Honeychain " is now a woman and thanks God , she hasn't stopped writing music .

Tanya Donelly is back and in full form! In some of her best work to date, Tanya beautifully combines her signature voice with her all star band to produce an elegant sounding album that she should be incredibly proud of.

The opening song, Life is But a Dream, is a spooky song that proves that Tanya's sense of the surreal has not vanished. The next three tracks, The Storm, the Night You Saved My Life, and Keeping You flow from song to song and showcase Tanya's songwriting ability. Moonbeam Monkey is another hauntingly "pretty" song...is that Tanya's voice or a pan flute? Wow. Wrap Around Skirt, my current favorite track, shows that Tanya can still rock out! Another Moment is just gorgeous and I currently can't get Darkside out of my head. The last three songs, So Much Song, The Wave and The Shadow so not disappoint and there is a secret track at the end that could arguably be the best song on the album!

I highly recommend Tanya's newest album, a beautiful treat for the ears!

Tanya Donelly is a gem of an artist. This is a fact. She has been a founder of such great bands as Throwing Muses, The Breeders, and Belly. Her second solo album finds her taking a more subtle, dream-like route and this "Beautysleep" is one you'll never wish to wake from.

What I find most improved in the 4 1/2 year hiatus since her previous CD is the VOICE. On "Beautysleep" Tanya shows she has a gift as a vocalist and uses her voice to its utmost potential. "The Storm" is the most obvious example, where Tanya reaches notes I never thought possible. But she can also go deeper to find beauty such as on "Darkside" or "The Shadow". Quite the range and gorgeous.

This CD is so complete, it's hard for me to rank the songs. I will say I don't especially care for "Moonbeam Monkey", but the other 11 songs are superb. "So Much Song" is a piece of sheer subtle magic. "Another Moment" is so uplifting and haunting. "Keeping You" embodies such pure JOY and just makes me smile to sing along to it. "The Night You Saved My Life" is just plain catchy, yet significant. And "Wrap-Around Skirt" rocks the hardest but is still interesting in all departments.

Overall, you can't miss this CD. To quote Tanya's stepsister Kristin Hersh: "There's magic here, and magic's weird.." Don't pass on this gorgeous effort from the divine Tanya D.

Tanya has always had a way of writing songs about angels, as well as monsters, that makes for a truly exotic fairytale of sorts. Her dreamy voice often times disguises the darkness of her lyrics. Eerie epics sung by a beautiful pixie, what could be better?

But Tanya Donelly has grown up. She has taken some time off and even entered the realm of motherhood. In a magazine interview she said she has completely changed her songwriting process since the birth of her daughter.

While Tanya's songs are still filled with such things as moonbeams and monkeys, she has a whole new confidence about her. She sings with a more breathy voice that haunts on a brand new level and the music itself seems more layered, adding to the complexity of the songs and stories.

Beautysleep is quite possibly the finest effort from a longtime source of fine work.

You are reading this to make up your mind whether you should buy Beautysleep.
The short answer is yes, but the longer answer should make it a more satisfying purchase. Even overlooking the fact that the CD contains the video for her title track, Tanya is a musician in a time that modern music forgot.
The album is filled with her comforting, albeit different, looks upon the ephemeral and the real. She has a knack for hooks and it is nowhere more apparent that on Wrap-Around Skirt and a knack for the satisfying fresh Moonbeam Monkey. Keeping You is a song that deserves the use of the oft-times ignored replay button on your CD player. The Storm is best served in a car at night with the lights on as they warm the asphalt and with one hand on the wheel as your head swells with its delicious melody.
The woman herself is a paradigm for how rock should be. It shouldn't be bombastic all the time. That's best left to Ted Nugent or The Who. Good rock should remind you that there is a place inside you that feels comfort for a song that not only you believe in, but can tap your feet to. Tanya deserves her success. She has been everywhere from Throwing Muses to The Breeders to Belly to her own work. It's not a shame that the amount of fans isn't larger, but it's wonderful to know that some us hear exactly what she means and we understand.
So, pay your money for Tanya and support someone who can carry a tune longer than the 15 minutes your other band will be around. You'll be happy you stopped by.

I offer here the perspective of 40-something music fanatic who has almost no prior experience listening to Tanya Donnelly's previous bands. My impressions of this music are not colored by comparisons, then.

This is a graceful and melodic record--dignified, but not boring, spiritual, but not spacy. Donnelly has a real gift for creating songs that shift gears in interesting ways, and which often feature hooks that are catchy but never predictable. The production of the recording is first-rate, as are the musical performances from the core band of Dean Fisher, Rich Gilbert, and David Narcizo.

Her lyrical gift is also impressive, fashioning such simple, yet evocative, couplets as this one, written for her baby: "You landed here from inner space/You landed with that screwed up look on your face." What can I say? Great stuff from an artist who may be, if anything, underrated, despite her acclaim.

Tanya Donelly keeps going away and then coming back in a new band with a slightly updated sound, this time she's keeping on the solo path but taking a slightly updated take from her first cd "lovesongs for underdogs". Tanya has mellowed out only in the production of her songs however her lyrics remain fierce and her voice is still a powerful instrument that can haunt you in your sleep. Tanya has always had a knack for writing PERFECT pop songs and she doesn't disappoint with "the night you saved my life", this song...is simply perfect! "I'm Keeping You" and "The Storm" are too beautiful to describe, they are the songs that bring an entire audience of men to tears. Everything about this cd is everything I was hoping for from Tanya's newfound inspiration as a mother. The next best thing to this cd right now is the thought of a new Throwing Muses cd featuring Tanya's beautiful vocals harmonizing with Kristin Hersh, I can't wait!!!
"Beautysleep"--buy it.

Tanya Donelly has been a long-time presence in the music industry, starting with her involvement in Throwing Muses, the Breeders and her own band Belly. Tanya has since gone solo to produce the 1997 album Lovesongs for Underdogs and this years album BeautySleep.

The album is very accessible in terms of listening and is generally softer than her previous album. Immediate songs that grab the listener include 'Wrap Around Skirt', 'Keeping You' and 'Moonbeam Monkey' closely followed by the others that grow on you after continued listening.

The album explores many sounds apart from the usual guitar, drum and bass combo and also utilizes slide guitars, drum machines, keyboard, ebows, percussion and organs. Personally I found this a nice change from the usual band set-up and was one of the reasons I like this album so much.

The album is also refreshing because it includes both rockier tunes such as 'Wrap Around Skirt' and more mellow songs such as 'The Wave' that offers a varied listening experience.

The album also features additional artists and musicians who add their expertise to the music such as David Narcizo of Throwing Muses and Lakuna and Mark Sandman of Morphine.

Overall Beautysleep is a must for Tanya fans and is definately worth a listen for those people who aren't familiar with her music.