TracksandGigs first heard from Haley Bonar when she released her debut 'The Size Of Planets' on Low's Chairkickers label in 2003. It was an extraordinary album from someone who was still in her teens. Mixing world weary ballads with sparkier story-songs, it marked her out as one to watch and contained two bona-fide classics, the stripped-down ballad 'Am I Allowed' and the keyboard led yearning of 'Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy'.
From there Bonar took three years over the follow-up which TracksandGigs somehow missed. Thats a shame because it would have helped to have heard the progression to this, her third album. Once again she has produced the album herself and plays the majority of the instruments.
This is a much more consistent folk-rock record than her debut, acoustic guitars and keyboards dominate. The songs, however, sound less interesting than on 'Size Of Planets', mixing love songs with others which chronicle the good and bad of a life in the music industry. Bonar's voice is warm and rich and songs like 'Green Eyed Boy' are pleasant enough but there is little edge to it and none of the spark that set her apart from the likes of Aimee Mann. 'Queen of Everything' with its electric guitar and 'when are you going to blow your stack' hookline is more successful and 'Along' is a haunting piano ballad.
This record is lush and well produced and may well appeal to fans of country music and lovers of singer-songwriters like the aforementioned Mann. For me though, its a disappointment from an artist who has shown she can write songs that stay long in the mind, this album is just too much like pleasant background music.
6.0
'Big Star' is out now on Afternoon Records. 'The Size Of Planets' is still in print on Chairkickers Music.
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