Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.
No, that’s not Tracy Chapman, though Basia Bulat‘s seductive sophomore album displays a similar graceful intensity. This crafty Canadian folkie turns seemingly simple songs into engrossing accounts of desire and regret. “Don’t you need me any more?” she asks in “Once More, for the Dollhouse,” a spare banjo seconding her stark plaint, while on “Sugar and Spice” she announces, “I’ve done myself in.” Elsewhere, “If It Rains” combines a sleepy groove and gospel-style backing singers to echo sultry ’60s soul. Always tasteful yet never bland, Heart of My Own is a soulful antidote to the lovesick blues.
