SECRET CITY
After 2016’s Good Advice landed Basia Bulat with a nomination for the Polaris Music Prize, she now returns with an album on the back of a relocation out to California’s Joshua Tree. Inspired by classic songwriters, such as Minnie Ripperton and Emmylou Harris, Bulat has tapped into a feeling of quiet yet powerful introspection. There are touches of Americana via pop and folk on Are You In Love? but there is also a contemporary sheen to the album that is a far cry from a mimicry of the past. As ever, Bulat’s voice demonstrates a great range, scaling seamlessly from a delicate whisper to a raspy, powerful wail. It’s an album that manages to weave between grand musical statements, driven by sweeping strings and surging compositions, to more stripped-back moments.