MUSIC REVIEW: Hillary Bratton

If you've made it into your 30s, or 40s, perhaps even 50s; cracked but not broken, disappointed but not weakened, alone but not lonely, ask yourself this question: Who exactly is singing our song? I've watched and wept as Tori Amos gutted her feminism by desperately clinging to her plastic surgery enhanced dolled up close-ups. I've held my forehead in shame as Bjork recorded an album on her freaking I-phone, so out of touch she believes embracing elitist technology will keep her vibrant. I've fallen asleep listening to Ani Difranco sing her ode to Occupy Wall Street.

If you dig Fiona Apple, love Poe, understood early Alanis, still vibe with Kate Bush then we have received deliverance in 2015. Ladies,--(and Gents) -- may I recommend, Hillary Bratton? With her brazen and boundlessly inspired album, Tears On My Pillow, But the Rest of the Bed’s OK, to be released October 2, 2015, Hillary Bratton bursts onto the scene flexing her creative range with more quality ideas than can possibly be crammed into the nine songs cozily nestled on her debut. This quintessential labor of love is unique in many ways, not the least of which is that, all the songs are Barry Reynolds tunes.

Oftentimes, the best music doesn’t receive endorsements or sponsorships from the ‘mainstream music gatekeepers’ and therefore remains unnoticed by music lovers; this is the sad truth for Barry Reynolds. For those who might not know who Reynolds is, he is a songwriter; producer and guitarist at the edgier end of music, starting in the late sixties. His work with Grace Jones, John Martyn, Joe Cocker, Bette Midler, Toots & The Maytals and Black Uhuru are part of his catalog, but, he is probably best known as spending 20 years collaborating with Marianne Faithfull, including writing the infamous record, Broken English. Hillary considers Reynolds her ‘musical north’, finding inspiration and direction in his music, manner and vision; which creates a collaboration of timeless treasure and worth.

This album isn't something that you can just plunk into your CD player and let rip. It's a very complex, layered, intense work, and deeply personal as well. In its broadest outlines, it's an attempt to document that strange and creative journey that we take, called life. Track 2, Fuck its Cold, is sublime, mundane and quirky; probably more the former than the latter. Fuck it’s cold, but not as cold as the night you left me/fuck its cold/Bad memories keep hanging around that’s all that’s left in this forsaken town/Fuck its cold

The album is minimalist in tone, deep lyrics while remaining sparse, getting the job done without filler. O My Aching Heart is such an example:

Gilded cage/pent up rage/Swirling mist/ I think I’m pissed/ oh my aching heart

A standout track is the fearlessly sober, Only Yesterday, which feels divorced from the outside world, while being relentlessly in tune with its realities.

Now the floor is swept and clean/fate was working in reverse/ a plan without the Universe/Unstoppable

Throughout the album, Reynolds proves that he can say more with a few notes than other guitarists can say with thousands. Couple this with the distinctive voice of Bratton, and you end up with something interesting, that sounds really cool,something that captures your imagination before it captures your heart, but capture your heart it will. Make no mistake; this is an album that needs to be listened to as a whole to appreciate the musical landscape that is being painted. It is an album that will transport you to a place inside yourself that needs visiting, time and time again.

#Turntable