THE LEG UP / Stephen M. Deusner

HAIL HALEY

Haley Bonar returns with Big Star.

There are thousands of artists out there struggling to get your attention, loudly clearing their throats to get you to look their way. It can all be a bit overwhelming, which makes discovering a new (or new-to-you) artist a crucial and even reinvigorating experience.

This week I latched onto Haley Bonar, who’s actually on her third album. Hailing from South Dakota but based in Minnesota, she reminds me of Shawn Colvin circa Fat City, which I mean in the best way possible. Underrated at the time (and overrated since), Colvin had a great voice and even better songs, both of which suggested a hard life rather than an insular existence. Similarly, Bonar sings pretty melodies as vehicles for tough-minded sentiments; she also plays most of the instruments and produced. In that regard, Big Star is exquisitely jaded—a concept album about how much the music business sucks. On “Queen of Everything,” she sounds much older than her years: The industry, she sings, will “tear you from the inside, fuck with your spine, take you to the same place I lost my mind.” Fortunately, she never sounds like she’s whining. Instead, she just shrugs her shoulders, plugs in an amp, and sings a song about hitting the road and getting away from it all. “It’s just me and a map and a cup in my lap,” she sings on stand-out “Highway 16. “Life’s getting a lot better, no doubt about that.” Here’s hoping she lives up to the title very soon.

Stephen M. Deusner is a freelance music journalist based in Washington , DC. Don't ask him about Norwegian pop or house rabbits, unless you have a few hours.