ARE YOU IN LOVE?

Description

Some records require a journey. Are You in Love?, the extraordinary new album by Basia Bulat, required two: the Canadian singer went to the Mojave Desert, then she left — turning inward, shedding darkness, looking toward dawn. After returning to these recordings in the spring of 2019, singing the songs on stage in Australia, and then mixing and remixing in L.A., the result is a striking and sublime album, gently strange, a brilliant desert record with a bit of pink dust on each of its 13 tracks. Are You in Love? is both exploratory and assured; it’s the sound of a singer who refuses to hide. The title track undulates like a classic girl group; “No Control” shines like the piercing gaze of that group. “Already Forgiven” is shaken by reverb like a ribbon in a storm, while “Your Girl” speeds down the highway, with Bulat in Christine McVie mode. Gradually becoming thunderous, the final track of the album, “Love Is At The End of the World,” is one of the most exciting things Bulat has recorded in her life: a fervent, incandescent epilogue, overflowing with raw electric hope. Basia Bulat is a folk singer-songwriter of Polish descent from Canada. She was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize in 2008 for her album Oh My Darling.