The aptly named
Beautysleep finds
Tanya Donelly's creative muse refreshed and revitalized after the four-and-a-half-year stint between this and her solo debut,
Lovesongs for Underdogs. However, this album bears little resemblance to
Underdogs' slick, slight attempt at triple-A pop. Indeed, its best moments, such as "Another Moment," share the same sweetly spooky vibe that
Donelly perfected with
Belly, but also belie a stronger, more grounded sound and lyrical outlook. "In the beginning my love was fierce/now I sit with my babe at my breast/I was never this good at my best," she sings on "The Night You Saved My Life," and this domestic serenity seeps into most of
Beautysleep's material. Songs like "The Storm," "Keeping You," and "The Wave" hew closer to traditional singer/songwriter conventions than
Donelly's earlier work -- and feature a slightly countrified twang to boot -- but still retain enough of her trademark weirdness to make the album distinctive.
Beautysleep's quirky, slightly trippy production adds another layer of interest, particularly on "Life is but a Dream" and "Moonbeam Monkey," which, despite its title, is an eerie, hypnotic duet with
Morphine's late singer,
Mark Sandman, and one of the highlights of
Donelly's entire career. Similarly, moody tracks like "Wrap-Around Skirt" and "The Shadow" wouldn't sound out of place on a
Belly album. While
Beautysleep doesn't offer quite as many of the giddy peaks and valleys that made Star so enthralling, it's arguably
Donelly's strongest and most consistent work since that landmark album. ~ Heather Phares