Cilla Bonnie
There for Me
self-released
There for Me, the first full-length album by Portland singer-songwriter and bassist Cilla Bonnie, is the sound of an artist in full bloom. There were flashes of brilliance on her previous EPs — “Rusty,” from 2020, comes to mind — and Bonnie’s been an in-demand backing vocalist for performers like Spencer Albee and Ali McGuirk in recent years, but her artistry is fully realized on these 10 sophisticated songs.
The jazzy shuffle of opener “Don’t Mistake Me” morphs into a magical section of baroque pop with layered vocal harmonies akin to the Beach Boys on XTC. “Not Now” funks along on a great bass line, then takes off on a keyboard flight of fancy courtesy of Emmett Harrity. Chris Sweet (Micromassé) also shines on drums and percussion, as do guests like Jeffrey Lockhart, who adds tasty guitar licks to the bluesy “Taking My Time.”
Bonnie’s pure-toned singing lifts a ballad like “Lonestar” above the ordinary, as does the originality of her composing on tracks like the languid “Cross to Bear,” which features haunting trumpet by Emma Stanley, and “Jump a Fence,” with cello by Shannon Allen.
Bonnie saves the best for last. Despair over the end of the so-called American Dream of home ownership, financial security and family seeps out in songs by local acts like Dead Gowns’ “Renter Not a Buyer” and Derek Lobley’s “Warm Here.” On “Apartment Song,” Bonnie captures tears of disappointment in a bottle and distills them into a beautiful meditation on longing.
“There’s a parallel universe across the street / Another apartment where we dwell,” she sings with heartbreaking softness and grace. “Close enough to see yet still out of reach / In my mind I know it well.”
“Maybe this one is the real one / Or the actual you and me,” the chorus goes. “Maybe this one is the big one / Oh, across the street.”
We’ve lost so much hope in the past 10 years, and no help is on the horizon. Yet albums like There for Me glitter in the dust. Bend down, pick it up, and keep it in your pocket as a reminder that great art transcends everything.
Visit cillabonniemusic.com for more.
