No one would have blamed Tanya Donelly if she’d chosen to paraphrase hercareer and cash in on her indie cred for her sophomore solo album, beautysleep.In many ways, Lovesongs for Underdogs, its predecessor and Donelly’ssolo bow, did just that as she handily referenced her potent contributions toThrowing Muses, the Breeders, and the oft praised Belly.
In the five years since Lovesongs, Donelly and husband/collaborator DeanFisher have had time to reflect on their musical pasts and consider their collectivefuture with the birth of their daughter. The result of all this pondering hasbeen a shift away from the bristling indie rock of Donelly’s band and soloexcursions and a move toward a moodier and more evocative sonic texture andsongs that gently simmer rather than blister and boil.

On beautysleep, Donelly’s figurative and literal indie pop lullaby,motherhood is evidenced in ways both obvious (“Now I sit with my babe atmy breast, I was never this good at my best,” from “The Night YouSaved My Life”) and subtle (the jazzy Victoria Williams-touched opener“Life Is But a Dream” and the Joe Henry delta blues/pop throb of “MoonbeamMonkey”), but her talent for gripping words and music has never been morefocused or graceful. Guests like ex-Throwing Muses drummer David Narcizo andmulti-instrumentalist Rich Gilbert give beautysleep a discernible luster, butone of the album’s most poignant moments is easily the presence of thelate Mark Sandman’s vocals on “Moonbeam Monkey.” Tanya Donellyhas proven beyond doubt that she has deserved the accolades of her previousincarnations and that this latest creative growth spurt may soon overshadoweven those considerable accomplishments.