Beth Bombara - Wish I Were You

Beth Bombara - Wish I Were You

2010, Beth Bombara

St. Louis songbird Beth Bombara continues to shift her musical sights on her first full-length album under her own name, Wish I Were You. Infusing folk, Americana, blues and rock n roll in a restless but highly enjoyable song cycle; Bombara continues to remake herself as an artist and gets ever closer to the core of her talent as a songwriter.

Wish I Were You opens with "Rainbow" a gentle American number full of a melancholy born of experience but also infused with hope for something more.  The subject here could either be romantic or just a friend; Bombara's complex subtlety evades discernment, but the depth of emotion is powerful either way.  "Can't Win" is a catchy acoustic country/rocker with an unforgettable melody.  Bombara reflects on the realities of the working artist, regretting the tendency for basic human needs to waylay such pursuits.  This is among Bombara's best works to date, featuring a fresh sound and gorgeous vocal harmonies.  "Direction" is a tuneful request for guidance from one who is tired of being directionless but doesn't know which way to go. 

Bombara sidesteps on “Lately".  The song has real potential, but is drawn with a melancholy wail that just doesn't entirely work.  Bombara puts her rock n roll shoes on for "Winter Blues".  Opening with a bluesy folk sound, the song quickly turns into an impudent and bleak but energetic rocker.  "Pots & Pans" blends blues, rock and Americana in near-perfect fashion.  Bombara is in great voice here, and this song will get stuck in your noggin.  Don't be surprised if the licensers start lining up for this one.  Bombara shows off her lyrical talents on "Not Fair", a contemplative song of heartbreak laid out over a wonderfully sparse arrangement that affects the mood of the song perfectly. 

Bombara revitalizes "Abandon Ship" as an Americana/country number and may actually have improved on the original.  This is one of Bombara's best songs, and was a standout on the EP of the same name, but takes on additional color and context in the current arrangement.  The stunning vocal hook that drives the chorus carries over well in spite of the stylistic changes.  Bombara details the classic human struggle for a sense of control in "I'm Not Tired".  Anyone who has ever tried to convince a toddler that its bedtime will get it, and perhaps see some of themselves in that eternal struggle.  Wish I Were You closes with "Don't You Know", a straight forward love song written without device of affectation.  Bombara starts out with just her voice and banjo, eventually growing the song into an almost orchestral country arrangement that is highly appealing. 

Beth Bombara never stands still.  Every time something of hers comes across this desk it's a bit different than the last; and Bombara just keeps getting better and better.  There is a quiet reserve to the songwriting on Wish I Were You, but within that reserve is a remarkably competent authorial voice, brought vibrantly to life in Bombara's singing voice and accompanying instrumentation.  Wish I Were You is a must have album, and will convince a lot of listeners to find out more about Beth Bombara.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

 Learn more about Beth Bombara at www.bethbombara.com.  Wish I Were You is available digitally from Amazon.com and iTunes.  If you want a physical CD you can score one through Bombara's webpage.  You can even get the album on vinyl from CDBaby.

Review: Beth Bombara - Abandon Ship

Beth Bombara - Abandon Ship
2007, Beth Bombara

Having reviewed Beth Bombara’s latest CD, Beth Bombara And The Robotic Foundation, we thought it would be fun to step back and time and take a look at an earlier, solo recording. Bombara was kind enough to send us Abandon Ship. While her sound tends more towards Bettie Serveert and The Breeders nowadays, she was originally compared favorably with the likes of Beth Orton. I don’t know that I quite agree with that assessment, but I was very pleasantly surprised by Abandon Ship.

Bombara opens with the title track, an unorthodox folk tune that sounds at first like it's been mixed incorrectly until you realize it's intentional. The song is about feeling out of place in a relationship and realizing ultimately that it's not going to work. Bombara even used a slightly out-of-tune piano to drive home the sense of something not being right. Artistically the song is brilliant; the arrangement is rather simple but with a lot of little touches (bells, piano mixed on top of the other instruments, piano out of tune, etc.). If I hadn't already been introduced to Bombara from her album The Robotic Foundation this would be a highly intriguing introduction. Time is a mournful song about the inevitability of change in the form of the passage of time. It's an emotionally honest monologue about truths we all face at some point in our lives and is very well-written.

Till The Sun Goes Down takes Time one step further; making every second count. The sun going down here would appear to be a euphemism for death, and Bombara makes it clear that she's all about living and making the most of her time, particularly within the bounds of a relationship. Making Our Way is one of two personal favorites on the disc; a song of dedication and devotion. It's a mature take on a mature relationship, weathering storms together and charting a course for something more. Bombara shines here at her most personal with intelligence, a hint of wit and an emotional availability that most artists have a hard time projecting live, much less on an album. Bombara closes out with Worn, a wonderfully dark and urgent song about protecting yourself in a relationship that carries a lot of risks. This is the most dynamic and lively song on the disc and has an infectious quality to it despite the dark tone. Worn is the other personal favorite tune on the disc, and reflects a much deeper well of song-writing talent than the already impressive showing thus far on the disc.

Beth Bombara impressed us with The Robotic Foundation, but I daresay that the raw, emotional quality of her songwriting as a solo player/singer might be more compelling. Abandon Ship is a stunning EP that deserves a lot wider distribution and notice than it's already received. There are a handful of folks who might compete for the crown of best songwriter in Indie Music. I don't know if she'd win or not, but Bombara definitely deserves to be in the conversation.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Beth Bombara at http://www.bethbombara.com/ or www.myspace.com/bethbombara. You can purchase Abandon Ship as either a CD or download through CDBaby.com.

Review: Beth Bombara And The Robotic Foundation - Beth Bombara And The Robotic Foundation

Beth Bombara And The Robotic Foundation - Beth Bombara And The Robotic Foundation
2009, Beth Bombara And The Robotic Foundation

Beth Bombara And The Robotic Foundation is a St. Louis, Missouri Folk/Rock band earning comparisons to everyone from Beth Orton to Bettie Serveert and The Breeders. Bombara has toured with Samantha Crain and The Midnight Shivers and was even invited in 2006 to an artist residency on Martha's Vineyard. She continues to pursue multiple musical outlets, also performing solo and as part of the duo Cassie Morgan and the Lonely Pine. Bombara turns her folk instinct to the Rock N Roll world on Beth Bombara And The Robotic Foundation, a highly confessional and straight forward Alt-Rock/Folk album released in 2009.

Beth Bombara And The Robotic Foundation opens with Lights, an angst-filled song that seems to vacillate between a failure to realize one's own potential and failing to maintain the potential of the world around us. The song is well written; dark and melancholy in tone but with an edge that retains your attention. Beautiful You is the questioning hope of someone who finds herself face to face with everything she wants and not able to believe it. The song is full of the angst and self-doubt of low self-esteem, yet dares to hope that the "impossible" is really true. Anonymous is a plodding tale of reverse voyeurism that falls flat in its own abject despair. The pacing and energy here suggest a severe case of depression for the protagonist, who has somehow become enraptured with her watcher. The story is interesting, but the arrangement makes it difficult to appreciate.

Conversation is a song of regret, caught up in a relationship where the inhabitants don't connect; perhaps don't listen to one another. The seams are falling apart and the narrator is looking around to see what could have gone differently. Not The World takes an interesting turn, moving out of the sadness that pervades the first four songs on the EP and reaching for the hope of sunrise. She's escaping something that's hovered over her for a long time, and when she returns it's all torn asunder by flames. The EP closes out with Sorry, an admonishment to the one who inflicted all of the pain and sadness on the narrator throughout the songs presented here. She's telling him from a position of strength ("I'm already out the door"), that false apologies won't work. It's actually a great tune, muddled effectively with a rock arrangement that shows the conflicted nature that still underlies the song despite its powerful statement.

Beth Bombara And The Robotic Foundation makes a powerful statement on their self-titled debut EP. The general tone of the album is dark, but Bombara breaks out of her emotional prison on the last two songs and not only sees the light of day but the strength to face her jailer and call him/her out. I find myself uncomfortable with the album and yet drawn to it, wanting to listen again and again almost in spite of myself. This means that Bombara and company have not only created great music; they've created great art.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Beth Bombara at http://www.bethbombara.com/ or www.myspace.com/bethbombara. You can purchase Beth Bombara And The Robotic Foundation as either a CD or download at CDBaby.com.