Beautysleep\nTanya Donelly\nBeggars/4AD\nPut away your old Belly records folks; this is not your older sister's Tanya Donelly. Once the quirky alt-rock chick with a voice that could knock down Goliath, this ex-Belly frontwoman has grown into something mature and new. And from the first notes of album opener "Life Is But a Dream" -- as the keyboard textures and heartbeat drums float Donelly's dainty voice up into the ether to a tune eerily reminiscent of Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night" -- it's obvious she's changed. \nOne could safely assume that this metamorphosis has been due, at least in part, to the fact that since her last solo outing, 1997's Lovesongs for Underdogs, Donelly has become a mother. In Beautysleep's press release, she says that her newfound motherhood has helped her develop a deeper connection to the world. She also says that she now can seem to sit back and make records more for herself without the trials and tribulations of the business, and any expectations of market success. And when listening to the album, this all comes gloriously into the light.\nThe change is mainly evident in a toned-down focus, from loud guitars to a more peaceful, simple melody. In each of the songs on Beautysleep, it is Donelly's voice that is the main focus, singing as if a bird on a wing, enchanted by life and all of its possibilities. And this is quite a revelation for a singer who began her career in the mid- '80s with four long-players with the Throwing Muses, spent time in a pre-Last Splash version of The Breeders, and released two albums with her own band, Belly.\nIn Beautysleep she talks about discovery, return to a newly found normalcy and, perhaps most influentially, a true love. "When I stumble, it will be into your hand… Can it be the storm has passed," she sings, almost relieved, in "The Storm." And in "Another Moment," over a peaceful autoharp vibe, she sings of change and rediscovery: "So what if you come undone on your way to the sun / Your home-made kite melts down and out of sight / You'll find that your arms are fine and strong and move you along / And not a moment too soon."\nWith her sophomore solo effort, Tanya Donelly has retreated into the world of melody and newfound motherhood. And its seems to be a place in which she is perfectly content -- cool, calm and collected and singing as if on a breeze.\n
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