The Bathroom Mirror

Album Review

Mostly recorded on April 11, 1997 on a walkman-type recorder, The Bathroom Mirror is an exercise in Dylan-esque confessional folk. As Bill Foreman had passed through a number of bands, the already refined narrative songwriting of his solo debut is strong enough to not be obscured by the admittedly unprofessional recording quality. Strangely, the lack of studio sheen works to Foreman's advantage, only upping the intimacy of tracks dominated by understated acoustic guitar and vocals. It also helps a great deal that some of these tracks rank among his best, with Foreman's enormous talent for utilizing vivid language to inhabit his character's perspectives almost making it as likely that the listener will remember these songs visually through the images they evoke as the melody. Tracks like the country blues-ish "Body & Soul" and the more standard folk of "Where the Wind Blows" almost come across as short stories illustrated by the music of the narrator. Similarly, the meticulous verse of the title track and "St. Louis" is indicative of his absolute mastery of the craft. Of course, many of these songs, such as the classic 1940s pop feel of "Crazy," would fill out nicely should Foreman ever choose to fully orchestrate them. Here's hoping we see that some day.