Jonathan Donaldson and the Color Forms - Beyond Blue Bells
(Traveling Talons)
Beyond Blue Bells is a full on, gun slinging, pop attack from all sides, with lush instrumentation and layered vocals enveloping the listener. Jonathan Donaldson & Co.'s intent is to bombard the listener with a symphony of ideas and sounds. Despite his approach, it is easy to notice the glaring influences, from Jonathan Richman, Elvis Costello and Orange Juice. Donaldson probably shares the most with his mentor and fellow Jonathan Richman in particular, as both aim to carve a path through the thicket with an honest, sincere and independent method of songwriting.
>From the start, Donaldson holds little back, opening his heart, with all its sensitivity, sentiment and passion laid out on the table. On "The Impassioned Eyes of Song" Donaldson longs for some motherly guidance, 'Mother, mother/Mother I've lost the sense of action/Mother, mother/Lovers could say/I've lost the compassion'. He certainly likes to lay it on thick, and while it might seem that such lyrics would be taxing, Beyond Blue Bells is mostly an effortless, easy listen. Most tracks contain some semblance of verse-chorus-verse, but have a habit of sudden changes of time signatures and instruments. "Bella Forta," for example, begins as a soothing, violin-adorned ballad before launching into a triumphant electric guitar line bringing us to the top of a mountain.
Technically, Beyond Blue Bells is quite an achievement. The tricky technique of layered vocals, which on other records often sounds excessive or misplaced, is used well throughout. Haunting ooohhhhs and ahhhhs swirl around, but never get in the way of Donaldson's affected delivery. It's all very professional sounding, but despite Donaldson's sincere efforts, Beyond Blue Bells somehow lacks life. Never allowing the songs space or time to breath, Donaldson also rarely goes out on a limb, and is hampered by a voice just a little too reminiscent of his heroes. Donaldson's all-encompassing approach to pop, with its frequent changes and plethora of sounds, works to sap some of the raw emotion from his vocal delivery. Nevertheless, Beyond Blue Bells is a cohesive, well-crafted creation. Donaldson also has elegance in heaps. I wonder if he's into Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks?
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