Heather Nova- "Pearl" review
July 2019
Written by Nat Bourgon
Heather Nova’s songs have long been grappling with the
role of duality in our inner, emotional landscapes. Throughout her career, Nova has delved into
this exploration in a variety of ways: She has tracked down and zeroed in on the
seemingly microscopic-like, cloaked blessings obscured by challenging inclement conditions.
She has paired hopeful, triumphant sounding instrumentation with pained
realizations, to add levity to the sting of strain. She has merged a contemplative,
soothing edition of her vocal timbre with palpable musical tension. Heather
Nova is at her best when she directs her vocal delivery, lyrical message and
soundscapes to be disparate, divergent faculties and chooses to create an eclectic
hodgepodge of variability. When Nova reaches for contrast with her song ingredients instead of cohesion,
her music is at its most purposeful and enlightening. Fortunately, on her new
album “Pearl”, Heather Nova’s awareness of her strengths continues to burgeon, as
she takes an amorphous and enterprising approach throughout, resulting in her
most moving, inventive, raw, and revelatory album to date.
She's writing about more personal, intimate topics
here, so the emotive resonance runs deeper. The music veers from soaring to
insular to cathartic to searching, often changing the predominant mood up over
the duration of an individual song. The production is refreshingly more fluid
and organic than on her classic 90’s albums "Oyster" and
"Siren", generously allowing the songs the space and patience necessary
to reveal their own identity and intent, instead of the production itself
sealing the songs’ respective and collective mantras.
Opener “The
Wounds We Bled” examines how reflection and mindfulness can work in tandem to
help us accept a relationship’s end. Nova’s lyrics are invested in soaking up
the insights learnt in the arena of self-awareness and past experience to
improve the scope of our present tense, and mitigate unnecessary dwelling that
no longer serves us.
"All the Rivers" sonically channels the emboldened
thrill of a July heat wave, gladly siding with impulse over logic, freedom over
rules. The guitars chime with a delightfully thorny, wild abandon and
infectious hunger, creating an evocative scene that exemplifies the open-ended,
adventurous journey of new love being embraced. “All the Rivers” validates that
the ensuing curiosity and spark of new love can persist long past the honeymoon
phase when inquisitiveness and ongoing learning are committed to being nurtured.
The build-up in
tempo and persona from minimalism to fullness, from hushed to bustling that
occurs in "Rewild Me" positions the song as an album standout. Nova alternates between sounding pensive and
intrigued here, reaching for the mystical enlightenment and spiritual
development that nature offers us in spades, yet retaining some healthy caution
and discretion towards unpredictability.
“Some Things
Just Come Undone" possesses a crackling rock flare, and her fired-up, edgy
singing finds synchronicity with the instrumentation's intensity, even as the
lyrics tell a harrowing story of dissonance, where the optimism of childlike innocence
meets reality’s harshness for perhaps the first time. Musically, there is a
sense of unrest and clamor here, like the grasp on control is slowly but
scarily unbuckling, as though there is a sheer helplessness involved, a sense
of inevitability that can’t be circumvented despite every best effort.
“After All This Time” feels nearly celestial at the
outset, as the gentle cellos accent the dream-like state we are blissfully dropped
into. Thankfully, contrast prevails again, as Nova’s lyrics detail how her reality’s
current blessings have finally outdone the wish list of her dreams. Midway
through, the cozy, settled ambiance awakens from its mid-day nap with the heavenly
vocals transitioning to restlessness, and the agreeable melodic inclinations
turning cragged, like a compact-sized sailboat rattled by a slew of unexpected
waves. It is as if the dream-like, pristine state gives way to reality’s
ripples of imperfection, yet it is reality with its disorder, chaos and
immeasurable beauty that ultimately wins out. “After All This Time” suggests
that it is reality that gets the nod over the dream-like state because reality
is the more authentic and meaningful experience, pros, pitfalls and all.
“Just Kids” sparkles with a youthful frame of mind, a sensuality,
showcasing the benefits of incorporating playfulness and wonder into our daily
lives. From listening to this song, it is evident that we as a society need to
reduce our obsession with allowing age to define us. “Just Kids” presents the
very agreeable proposition that we should be defined by the temperature of our
outlook rather than by the numeric tally of our years so far on the planet. “Don’t
Worry What the Experts Say” is sage and discerning, yet her vocal delivery
carries a sense of longing and self-awareness. That these two
tracks flow into one another and co-exist as neighbours on “Pearl” so
seamlessly, and that they embody such inverse provisos is a further testament
to the range-laden, flavourful, diverse medley of styles, textures and
approaches that inhabit “Pearl.”
"See Yourself” is Heather’s ode to her sister, celebrating the beacon of light and inspirational being that she is to Heather. Yet, the track also works as a tribute to perspective, as it considers the way we are often our own toughest critics, and how hard it can be at times to learn to see ourselves in the positive light that others see us in so effortlessly. “See Yourself” encourages her sister to honour and take pride in the splendor of her own vibrational energy and spirit, and reminds her that self-love is at the root of external love, since the energy we put out into the universe is perceptively sensed by others and will shape the way others respond to us in turn. The crunchy sonic seasoning lends the song a caustic, cautionary mannerism, which juxtaposes with her motivating lyrics and alleviating diction.
"See Yourself” is Heather’s ode to her sister, celebrating the beacon of light and inspirational being that she is to Heather. Yet, the track also works as a tribute to perspective, as it considers the way we are often our own toughest critics, and how hard it can be at times to learn to see ourselves in the positive light that others see us in so effortlessly. “See Yourself” encourages her sister to honour and take pride in the splendor of her own vibrational energy and spirit, and reminds her that self-love is at the root of external love, since the energy we put out into the universe is perceptively sensed by others and will shape the way others respond to us in turn. The crunchy sonic seasoning lends the song a caustic, cautionary mannerism, which juxtaposes with her motivating lyrics and alleviating diction.
Heather Nova’s music has been navigating the
oft-blurry lines between grit and serenity for years, and this new album
captures her most successful balancing act of the two. Her singing here is more
animated, passionate and expressive than ever before, doing justice to the
skyscraper-high stakes of these new songs. “Pearl” reminds us that our enjoyment and
fulfillment in life is maximized when we embrace the opportunities for transformation
that live in contrast’s choppy waters and choose to paddle onward with love,
intention setting and fortitude, despite the world’s external chaos, despite
our hurdles. “Pearl” stands as a roaring and sincere album brimming with life,
wisdom, heart, and artistry, a first-rate indicator of the Heather Nova’s agile
musicianship, poetic astuteness, imaginative capacities and grounded outlook.
