Tanya Donelly - soul mining in da Bush of Ghosts

What happens when an artist grows up is easy to mull over during the Tanya Donelly's intimate show. We all know men refuse it and cling to their kidults selves as if the last straw of living while women gracefully move on. The probable reason being that men, not designed to be birth-givers, are not really required to face to reality but can continue to live their fictionalised 'hunter' existences.

Mother-of-two Donelly - once amidst the leaders of the female sonic revolution - has matured to become an artiste who can take it lo-fi, deeper into the soul mining, minimally arranged but maximally 'engaged'. These are observation of a woman who knows the need of a beautysleep, of fun and escape from doing that all important thing - rearing a future generation.

And yet, not just a mother who does simply bow to the pressures of domesticity but a woman who can reflect on being a musician without lowering her standards but exploring different sides to her personality. Ballady, feely, introspective, almost acappella at times, sometime crooning.

Fair distance from her chequered-but-defining-femininity past that witnessed her setting milestones with The Throwing Muses, Breeders and Belly. She revisits it intermittently for few choice songs but it appears to be just a background to the present self. Whilst men love to reprise/freeze-frame their youthful mindsets, ladies tend to move on and embrace their true'n'maturing identities.

Strumming a guitar, it is her voice that takes centre stage, a finely tuned voxbox whose powers have developed over the years: she controls, projects and has a veteran-like confidence to hit high notes, screech banshee-like as well as to whisper seductively. Tonight's repertoire is mainly focused on the new album, 'Whiskey Tango Ghosts', her third solo outing, and these are the songs she introduces in her charmingly girlie manner: 'Every Devil', 'Whiskey Tango', 'Butterfly Thing' and the heart-wrenching 'Just In Case You Quit Me'. 'WTG' album's been out just a day, after all.

The music is quietish [let's say 80 decibels] but the rapturous applause sounds like peaking at 120 Db [offhand] and her rapport with the audience is friendly: she talks, jokes, smiles like a contended lady only can. It is quite surprising - in particular interviewing her - that her delicate speaking voice [and equally slight-but-damn-shapely body] can produce such robust voices at times.

Previous album - 'beautysleep', 2002 - failed to indicate a directional shift toward a stark, more personal, pastoral and countrified approach with a steel-guitar, provided by one of the three backing men, that pulls on the heart strings as if it were being re-tuned. She introduces them early on but can't say that any of the man-children took it in due to being too busy watching intently, soaking in her allure and mentally evaluating her charismatic bodyliciousness.

Alas, the somewhat disturbing tendency is that the audience tonight, and in general, is mainly of the male gender and the few females in the auditorium are there with their boyfriends. Still, they all are sweating out beers as if at a Tropicana night: hot outside in an area that's transformed into a little Asiatic haven, hot inside due to the summer returning briefly and hot internally because this babe-mom is someone to love, respect and wish for more like her.

Tanya Donelly is a blonde who has a talent, brains and a lot of sex-appeal. Bloody rare but the most delicious combo.