Bella Boo - Once Upon a Passion

November 1, 2019 - Studio Barnhus

As can be expected from Sweden’s now infamous Studio Barnhus, where the eclectic is the foundation upon which the castle stands, Bella Boo’s debut album Once Upon A Passion is a playful experiment in juxtaposition. Bella Boo née Gabriella Borbély is not afraid of the disparity created when she pulls together odd pairings of musical influence. ‘She’s Back!’ is a dark techno dance floor imagined in the minds of musicians from the past playing a smooth underground jazz club. Both visions are sharply at odds throughout the track in a tug-of-war for attention, flipping you back and forth through space-time. ‘Your Girlfriend’ is an unexpectedly conventional crooning nihilist pop anthem in the voice of other woman over buttery arpeggios. ‘Can’t Leave You Like This’ and ‘Flightmode’ begin and end the project with glittering optimism of a past-future time machine from the perspective of the late 1970s. ‘Tuesday’ mocks the melodrama of its somber muted jazz trumpet with voices distorted silly like a strange operatic chorus and sound effects that literally sound like bubbles in cartoon television shows. ‘Stars’ provides an ambient interlude as serene as the night sky, an exploration fit for a planetarium display. Listening is a wild safari of guess-that-sound through vast biomes of instrumentation and musical notation. For all the auditory richness created by variety and unexpected combinations for the brain to parse through, the ideas never get abstract enough to lose you as a listener. Some songs are more approachable than others, of course. But this is forgiven because the entertainment you are paying for is a glimpse into the mind of someone with an intense passion for sound and a hungry imagination—what is she hearing, what is in her private sample collection, how does she construct something out of nothing, what language does she speak, and can it float? It’s hearing a master at work. And it’s as loose and enjoyable as watching an elephant paint. ☔