Tanya Donelly: Beautysleep : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Tanya Donelly has never made any bones about the fact that she enjoys being a girl, although she's perfectly aware of the pitfalls that can go along with that chromosomal makeup. On this, her first full-length in four years, the former Belly frontwoman waxes quietly and eloquently about motherhood ("Mama") and romantic love ("I'm Keeping You"), while honing her facility with the darker recesses of Southern goth (as on the swampy, "Moonbeam Monkey," which features guest vocals from Morphine's late singer Mark Sandman). Donelly isn't as likely to play the ingenue these days, as evidenced by the decidedly adult tenor of songs like "Wrap Around Skirt" and "The Night You Saved My Life," but there'll always be another youngster willing to fill that role. On the other hand, a strong and smart, yet not sneering, woman is hard to find, which makes Beautysleep a fine thing to wake up to.

DAVID SPRAGUE
(February 19, 2002)