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.
