| Bronwen Williams |
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Call it the Jewel syndrome, but music lovers tend to be drawn toward the confessional artist, the writer who bares her soul in song to an almost daunting degree. When the writing isn't particularly inspired, it comes off as cringe-inducingly self-indulgent, like we're sitting in on a stranger's therapy session. But, when the lyrics seem inspired and insightful, listening in can be a very enriching experience. Local folkie Bronwen Williams has created, in her debut, an open wound of an album that draws you in with its acoustic intimacy and seduces you into its darkness. Although there's an occasional lilting mid-tempo number, the pace and mood here are both decidedly down, as Williams lets melancholy overcome her while contemplating death, divorce, suicide and any source of heartbreak she can get her soul around. It may sound like an unrelenting downer, but some of the minor-key arrangements are simply lovely, plumbing just the right modicum of sadness from the strains of a cello or accordion. --- Rob Hubbard, Sidewalk Twin Cities, 08-10-99 |