TRACY BONHAM

Masts of Manhatta

[Engine Room Recordings]

Tracy Bonham’s brand of alternative pop-rock has often been compared to Liz Phair and PJ Harvey, but on Masts of Manhatta she edges closer to the sophisticated pop of Sam Phillips and Patty Larkin. Bonham gives her new songs a solid melodic foundation and applies adventurous arrangements to bring those tunes color and life. High points include “Josephine,” a cabaret song fitted with sputtering brass and angular electric guitar; “Devil’s Got Your Boyfriend,” a calypso-tinged tune with a sinister vibe; and “Your Night Is Wide Open,” a spooky ballad fueled by finger-picked acoustic guitar and a bridge that sounds like carnival music gone awry. As always, Bonham’s violin work provides subtle textures, becoming a key ingredient in the album’s stripped-down sound. The disc features the occasional unfettered pop song—witness the breezy, summery “In the Moonlight”—but most of the time Bonham doctors the proceedings with a mad-scientist glint in her eye.
–Russell Hall