Belinda Bruce

If you like Lucinda Williams, you'll like Belinda Bruce

"With the voice of a songbird, this Vancouver singer is quickly becoming a household name. Working with many accomplished musicians, her latest album 'Dream Yourself Awake' is an astounding labor of love."

(www.newmusiccanada.com) - NewMusicCanada

BELINDA BRUCE Dream Yourself Awake (Maximum/Universal) The first album from the Vancouver-based Belinda Bruce makes for a great campfire soundtrack, drifting along on gentle, unassuming melodies and low-fi intimacy. Dream Yourself Awake introduces Bruce as a master of grown-up lullabies and a worthwhile addition to the female singer-songwriter tradition. — Matt Semansky, Chart Attack - Chart Attack (Toronto)

I'd never heard of Belinda Bruce until a week ago, and yet when the record label announces Dream Yourself Awake as a ''long awaited debut,'' I'm inclined to agree — the rootsy, celestial work couldn't have come too soon. Vancouver's Bruce sings sweetly and phrases casually on the longing Falling Star; Twisted Lullaby, with melodica, chord organ and toy piano, is terrifically orchestrated; and on the sashaying Underground, a cello, Wurlitzer and banjo take winking bows. Finally, a world awakes to the charms of Belinda Bruce. —Brad Wheeler

***1/2 - The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

“This Vancouver-based singer-songwriter has been active on the local club and festival scene, and this debut deserves national recognition. It features a nice combination of elements, juxtaposing prominent cello with more traditional roots-associated instrumentation. The result is a sonic fusion of chamber folk and earthier tones. Producer Jon Wood does double duty by taking a prominent role. His instruments range from banjo, lap steel and acoustic guitar to organ, Wurlitzer, xylophone, melodica, drums and toy piano. Another key contributor is cellist and harmony vocalist Christie Staudhammer. Those seeking short, snappy melodies should look elsewhere. Five of the nine tracks here click in at five minutes or more, and it takes a few listens for the tunes to slowly ingratiate themselves. The patience is rewarded by this impressive and impressionistic work.” —Kerry Doole - Exclaim! Magazine (Toronto)

"Here is a woman whose delivery is is variously blessed with the purity of Rosie Thomas, the earthiness of Ruth Minnikin, the soulful intent of Nanci Griffith and the authority of Joni Mitchell...her pipes possess a breathy vulnerability and forceful defiance at once.

'Dream Yourself Awake' is, as arrivals go, not as much audacious as extremely welcome in that female folk or country artists upping the ante are currently on thin ground. And it's fair to say that delivering a classic as an opening gambit is somewhat upping the ante.

....one of the contenders for album of the year. Triumphant."
– Tom Sherriff - Comes With a Smile, UK

Belinda Bruce's 2004 debut, Dream Yourself Awake, was a wispy, low-key introduction, full of rootsy lullabies and imbued with a dusky ambiance. The Good Life, her follow-up, is a tougher, more confident album, thanks in part to a band that includes two of the city's finer multi-instrumentalists-Jane Gowan and Jon Wood-and tracks featuring pop hooks rather than basement-apartment simplicity. That's certainly true of "Citysong", a track that begins with honking cars, takes a trip down Main, twirls around a Legion dance floor, and ends with Gowan's spirited trumpet. Wood's pedal steel adds countrified pain to the rootsy "Rust", a sepia-toned waltz also backed by Gowan's accordion. The rhythm section of bassist Ryen Froggatt and drummer Matt Brain grounds "Careful What You Wish For" and "Heaven Knows", while the band spins "Blackout" into an atmospheric campfire jam. "Slide", with the album's catchiest chorus, is the truest showcase for Bruce's pop side and perhaps the furthest in style from anything on her debut. The Good Life could be a transitional album, or simply a clear indication of where the singer's heading. In either case, it's as yearning, contradictory, and satisfying as the title suggests.
- Shawn Conner

Belinda Bruce And The Tawny Stars
The Good Life
By Kerry Doole

This Vancouver-based songstress turned heads and ears on the domestic folk scene with her 2005 debut, Dream Yourself Awake. This sophomore outing deserves even greater recognition. Her backing band, the Tawny Stars, earn a co-credit here, and they help give the disc a textured, full-bodied feel that keeps things from getting a little too monochromatic and melancholy. The most obvious stylistic reference point for Bruce is surely Lucinda Williams, and lines like, “should we let this love rust and fade, like the beauty of an old car in a junkyard grave?” would fit nicely in a Lucinda song. They come from “Rust,” a mournful epic nicely punctuated by pedal steel and accordion. Other songs explore a world of thrift shops, cheap apartments, blackouts and bruised hearts, and the languid, world-weary feel of Bruce’s vocals bring them to authentic life. ...Playing key sonic roles are multi-instrumentalist and mixer Jon Wood (Herald Nix) and bassist/engineer Ryen Froggatt. An excellent effort that further boosts Vancouver’s rep as the most creative roots music scene we have.(Bee-Side) - Exclaim!

“In Belinda Bruce’s dream, dancers in gauze gowns tumbleweed across the blue moon sky to a desert-town saloon for a jam on cello, double bass, guitar and banjo. Bruce harmonizes as beautifully with the instruments as with cellist/singer, Christie Staudhammer, on her debut album 'Dream Yourself Awake'. Produced by Jon Wood (who also plays several instruments), the album has a Flophouse Jr. delicacy to it.”

- Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, BC)

“Even if Belinda Bruce’s songs weren’t as good as they are, Dream Yourself Awake would still be worthy of recommendation based on its sound alone. Placing cello and banjo at the forefront, with touches of Wurlitzer, lap steel and xylophone, producers Jon Wood and Bruce have created a disc that is roots-based and familiar yet warmly personal. The living room (literally) production perfectly suits the material, which reflects age-old concerns of love, family and relationships. Bruce has a casual, winning way with a lyric, as in the opening lines to the melancholy “Falling Star”: He said ‘I like your body like this/A little tanned, a little skinny, a little undressed’/I said I like your body, too/But I guess this is it for me and you’.”
The sweet-voiced singer’s melodies are already strong, but bolstered by cellist Christie Staudhammer and multi-instrumentalist Wood, they become even more powerful, particularly in the lilting opener, “Underground”, with its teasing pauses, and “Jimtown”, where the stark arrangement adds menace. “Patricia Ann”, which combines Bruce at her storytelling best with a great cello hook, is another highlight on a disc that glows brighter with each listen. —Shawn Conner - Georgia Straight (Vancouver)

For those that read Dutch:

De in Vancouver, Canada wonende Belinda Bruce beweert dat Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Suzanne Vega, Joni Mitchell en Fleedwood Mac aan de basis lagen voor haar keuze om zelf nummers te schrijven en ze voor een live publiek te komen zingen. In 2005 debuteerde Belinda Bruce met de cd “Dream Yourself Awake (Maximum)” en daarmee kreeg ze al meteen een weliswaar nog geringe internationale erkenning. Lokaal in Canada leverde dat album haar wel direct enkele award-nominaties op. Makkelijk herkenbare en absorbeerbare liedjes met knap zangwerk dat klinkt zoals de ons welbekende seventies-popsongs van o.a. bovenvermelde dames-zangeressen. Een mix van folkpop, country en rootsrocksongs die ze zich helemaal eigen gemaakt heeft en die onmiskenbaar ook een eigen stempel hebben meegekregen. Op dit tweede volwaardige album “The Good Life” brengt Belinda Bruce 10 eigen liedjes waarbij ze in opener “Dirtly Little Secret” al meteen haar troeven op tafel legt. Knap opgebouwde songs met variërende instrumentatie en mooie arrangementen aangevuld met een fijn stemgeluid dat de luisteraar direct kan boeien en meeslepen. In “Citysongs” levert ze een ode af aan het stadsleven waar zij persoonlijk ook wel weet van te genieten. Een erg mooie song is “Rust” dat met een countrymelodie, een heerlijk accordeonintermezzo en met een koude rillingen bezorgende, hartverscheurende stem op een innemende wijze wordt gebracht en één – zoniet het – hoogtepunt van deze cd is geworden. Ook “Careful What You Wish For” is een liedje dat ik vast en zeker nog vaker ga spelen tijdens één van mijn - in eigen gezin alleszins - legendarische muziekavonden. Laat ons nog even verder titels noemen van sterke tracks: “Heaven Knows”, “Blackout”, de parelmooie sleper “Carry You Home” (met hemels subtiel orgeltje) en de titeltrack “The Good Life” waarin het stadsleven alweer onvolprezen bejubeld wordt. We begonnen deze bespreking met een opsomming van de idolen van Belinda Bruce maar hebben een vaag vermoeden dat haar naam binnen enkele jaren ook zal genoemd worden door op dat ogenblik beginnende zangeressen. Ze lijkt aardig op weg om een gevestigde naam in de muziekscène te worden. Dit soort muziek heeft gegarandeerd een ruim publiek en kan op elk moment van de dag gedraaid worden, voornamelijk als je even op zoek bent naar wat frisse moed om de dag door te komen. “The Good Life” is een cd die ik maar al te graag wil aanbevelen aan de fans van het betere dames-zangwerk, zoals bijvoorbeeld dat van alweer de bovenvermelde popvrouwen. Ook een eervolle vermelding en een waaier van verdiende pluimen voor de begeleidingsband “The Tawny Stars” (Jane Gowan, Ryen Froggatt, Matt Brain en multi-instrumentalist Jon Wood) die zorgen voor vaak subtiele maar altijd zeer mooie instrumentale bijdragen aan de algemeen hoge kwaliteit van de songs. Good luck to Belinda Bruce! - Rootstime - www.rootstime.be