REVIEW: Tanya Donelly, Lovesongs for Underdogs (Reprise)
- Reto Koradi
She may be a member of the 20-something set, yet Tanya Donelly can almost be considered a veteran in female alternative rock: Throwing Muses, Breeders, Belly - her band list looks like the who's who of the genre. And while fans were sad about the split of Belly, this was not an end to seeing Tanya's face in the spotlight. Donelly just found that the time has now come to put her own name and face on a record cover.
The first few tracks of Lovesongs for Underdogs do not show a huge difference to past efforts. Songs like the single "Pretty Deep" or "The Bright Light" could just as well have been on a next Belly album. But the longer the album runs, the more variation comes into play. There is a whole number of beautiful, slowly paced songs like "Acrobat", and Donelly widens her territory even further. "Goat Girl" is a playful, slightly folky tune, and "Bum" is atmospheric with somewhat muddy instrumentation. Even though some of the songs show a slight tendency in that direction, Donelly has not joined the league of female singer/songwriters, as is shown by her vocals soaring over a noisy background in "Breathe Around You".
While presenting herself as a solo artist, Donelly takes support from prominent members of the Boston scene, with (former) members of the Pixies, Throwing Muses, Letters To Cleo, Veruca Salt and Juliana Hatfield Three, the latter being nobody else than her husband Dean Fisher on bass. Most lyrics circle around relations, and are, as expected, much more personal than the ones from her previous band projects.
Lovesongs for Underdogs is certainly the most versatile and mature effort of Tanya Donelly so far. In this natural development she might have lost some of the charming freshness that made Belly's Star so outstanding, but new qualities are added. And the most important talents will probably always be with her. Despite its remarkable range, her voice has a fragile touch that you can hardly get enough of once you are hooked. And most of all, she has the capability of writing one great song after the other.
