Album – Hello Love – The Be Good Tanyas

Posted by admin on December 16th, 2006

Laid back, mellow and as distinctive as hell. With a hint of country and folk, this could have been a really run of the mill album. However this is an album that sounds fresh and oozes with raw emotion and passion. Admittedly, I’d only heard one song before approaching the band for a review. When I got the album, I was thrown for a bit of a six. The Be Good Tanyas sound quite unlike any girl band I’ve ever heard before. I was expecting a kind of Dixie Chick clone, but boy was I wrong and pleasantly so.

This 13 track album feels like an open invitation for a hug. There’s something very sad and yet at the same time defiant. It took me a couple of listens to really click with this album, but when that tipping point is reached, boy are you in for the aural ride of your life.

The albums opens with “Human Thing”, a slow drawl of a song, but how that voice soars like a bird of song in a cage. But this is no chirp, chirp, there is angst behind them there bars. Things lighten a little with “For the Turnstiles”, but that voice is thickly woven throughout the album. “Ootischenia”, the forth track is where everything falls into place and indeed is one of my favorite tracks on the album. Other notable tracks on the album are “Song for R.” and “Crow Waltz”, with it’s real nod to the past.

The final track however is a really interesting one. It’s not just interesting because it’s a cover song. It’s very interesting indeed for being a cover of the Prince songs, “When Doves Cry”. This is a wonderful cover and a really nice surprise for the end of the album.

Conclusion : A wonderful slice of alternative American folk, country, rock or whatever else you want to define it as. This is an incredible album, with a sound all it’s own, from a band that deserves high praise indeed.

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