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Masts of Manhatta walks this line [the pull of the two extremes] throughout, sometimes getting quite a bit livelier, sometimes indulging in decidedly moody textures, always twisting just slightly from the expected, making for a record that's quite intriguing upon the first listen and better on repeats, where the songs begin to dig in and all the textures gain resonance.
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Full of attractive instrumentation and unfalteringly charming lyricism, Bonham's collection brings a sophisticated quirkiness to the femme alt-pop table unseen for quite some time.
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She has always been a skilled composer, but while there are some great songs on Masts of Manhatta, it's not a great album.
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One or two of the tracks sound a bit forced in their arrangements, and I can only too easliy envisage a studio listing in which individual songs are prefixed by descriptions : (the Polka number, the Dylan number, the BRMC number, the one Tom Waits wrote, etc.) but this doesn't detract from the album, if anything it only enhances it as, with a significant part of the albums production process actually audible, and with the musicianship never less than wholly professional, it's difficult to find actual flaws in the project.
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The music straddles that urban/rural divide with tasty jazz-roots arrangements by Beck's ex-guitarist Smokey Hormel. But it's Bonham's wryly literate lyrics that bring you along for the ride.
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Like all her work, Masts is a grower, a collection that deepens on repeated listenings and is very nearly the equal of Bonham's best work.
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There's no adolescent angst on her fourth disc, a gorgeous celebration of adult love.
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For a record that, thematically, trades in adaptation to new environments, Masts of Manhatta boasts real structural depth, as Bonham finds an effective balance of contemporary folk and modern rock.