Canada’s legacy of female folk legends is secured in Basia Bulat, who has crafted the album of the year in Tall Tall Shadow. The 29-year-old singer/songwriter wields an autoharp, piano, organ, and a honeyed, raw voice that fans of Joni Mitchell and Feist would be foolish not buy into without prejudice post haste. Recorded in a naturally reverberating old dance hall and co-produced by Mark Lawson and Tim Kinsbury (a member of Arcade Fire), Tall Tall Shadow has a grandiose, ethereal sound that oozes comfort and joy, but the songs themselves are devastatingly tragic. Basia’s plaintive vocal trilling on “It Can’t Be You” will break your heart; the cheerful doo-wop handclaps of “Promise Not To Think About Love” will stitch it back up again. With pure, powerful melodies, brutally honest lyrics, but always full of much hope, “Tall Tall Shadow” is a masterwork from a woman ready for prime-time.
