MEGAN BONNELL played the Rivoli Wednesday, June 15, as part of NXNE. Rating: NNNN
Megan Bonnell’s debut EP has big production values that prove her piano ballads can handle fleshed-out instrumentation. Produced by Steve Payne, the songs are built on classically influenced piano lines, drums and supporting-role strings.
Themes of geography, human drama, love and loss weave throughout. Bonnell changes the tempo near the end of opening waltz South Korea, building to an orchestral crescendo, and in Lowell, MA, she repeats a fascinating descending and disintegrating vocal line and uses a military drum roll that takes a page from Kate Bush’s Army Dreamers.
Bonnell’s got a beautiful voice and keyboard chops to boot. At times her vocal experiments (think Regina Spektor, Joanna Newsom) make it hard to focus on the lyrics – a small complaint about a promising debut. Megan Bonnell played the Rivoli Wednesday, June 15, as part of NXNE.
Top track: Lowell, MA
