REBECCA PRONSKY
Only Daughter
Nine Mile Records 0142

www.ninemilerecords.com
 

“I go deep where my demons sleep,” Brooklyn native Pronsky writes as she explores the underbelly of our existence. The nightime is her friend.

The refrain to the opener, “Rise Up,” is a bit of a political exhortation, while its verses comment, “Did you check your pulse this morning at the door? / What was it you used to be living for?” and “Standing in the line waiting for our daily bread/We are left here to lose our minds instead.” Women still dealing with brother issues may wonder if Pronsky addresses them on Only Daughter‘s song “Another.” The disc’s one track she didn’t write – a cover of “Glenn Tipton” by Mark Kozelek of Sun Kill Moon – is by far the darkest.

Once again Pronsky’s husband/guitarist Rich Bennett adroitly handles production – this time with a more indie pop than Americana vibe. As technological progress lowers costs of making albums, we wind up hearing plenty of discs from strong writers who don’t sing especially well. The welcome relief here is that Pronsky is an excellent vocalist whose pure soprano creates an interesting mesh with her lyrics’ cynicism.

— Bruce Sylvester