Music
Press
"[Laura is an] earthy rootsy singer/songwriter with an eye for the minor details of the human experience." - Club Passim Newsletter, Nov/Dec 2005
“Singer-songwriters, especially with the veritable flock of them hovering around the Greater Boston area and the Northeast, don't usually get recognized all that quickly. Fan bases develop slowly. Respectability takes time.
Don't tell that to Laura Bullock, though. And don't ask the people who line up at Club Passim to see her, or anyone who has had a listen of her debut Points North. If they're any sort of barometer, respectability comes remarkably quickly.
After all, she's really only been at this for two years. Points North is a follow-up to her debut EP In The Everyday and, a couple years of touring later, fans connected to her introspective lyrics.
Those fans couldn't feel any closer to Bullock after hearing "Jupiter Spinning," when she speaks to them. Literally. In the second person, she sings, "You're a smile, present but fleeting. A wound, always healing, yet bleeding. A prayer, always hopeful, yet pleading for more."
The ultimately folksy "Elements of Change" applies the perfect mix of strings to the album's catchiest track. It has all the elements of a jig, but it's dynamic and accessible enough to please any fan yearning for relatability.
Those same strings are applied seamlessly into the final track, the somber Water is Wide. She even explores her musical prowess in the alternately-tuned "I'm Not," that still has its unique draw.
Bullock knows balance, too. In a track that is led just as much by its lyrical contents as its composition, "In The Sand," Bullock pines, "I'm writing my heart out in the sand. Wash it away, wash it away, wash it away," over a fittingly descending set of strings.
So, in Layman's terms, this Boston-area songwriter knows how to write some pretty impressive folk-pop.
Just ask her building legion of fans. See her in Chelmsford at the Java Room on the 15th. Because, in the Northeast folk scene, this possible prodigy has been hitting the right notes from the start.
-Ben Collins
WERS
- 88.9 WERS
Laura was a finalist in the 2008 Kerrville New Folk Competition, with her songs "Little Bird" and "The Net Below". - Kerrville Folk Festival
"[Laura's] warm, earthy vocals, comfortable stage presence, and easy rambling rhythms will comfort you like a crackling fire on the beach at night." - Phil Wyman
"I can now wait patiently for Kate Rusby to put out a new cd. I have new, sweet, beautiful, honest music to listen to again!"
~Jennifer S.
"Beautiful voice, soulful lyrics, nice guitar work."
~Tori S.
[Regarding Laura's cd, Points North]
"A first class recording."
~Steven R. - Various fans
Discography
Laura Bullock (2008)
Points North (2006)
Club Passim Compilation CD (2006)
In the Everyday -- EP (2003)
The Rugg CD -- College Compilation (2002)
Photos
Bio
Laura Bullock is a Boston-area songwriter, through and through. Literate and modern, reflective and relevant, she is a distinctive voice in the Cambridge folk music scene.
On stage, Laura weaves each song together with humor and stories, connecting with the audience like two friends over tea.
Following the 2006 release of her first full-length album entitled Points North and the 2008 release of her self-titled EP, fans are eagerly awaiting Laura's next studio release, expected later in 2011. Appearing on a compilation CD released by Cambridge's legendary Club Passim and selected as a finalist in the 2008 Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters, Laura continues to gain recognition for her sweet, simple voice and insightful, thought-provoking lyrics.
Growing up in the Boston area in the 80's and 90's, Laura was heavily influenced by the urban folk revival that came out of the Cambridge scene, including such artists as Shawn Colvin, Ellis Paul, Patty Griffin, and Dar Williams. With influences such as these, it comes as no surprise that Laura is able to write songs that are both intensely introspective yet universally relatable.
Both on the road and in the studio Laura is garnering praise from audiences and industry members alike. Ben Collins from 88.9 WERS, Emerson College, Boston, MA writes, "In Layman's terms, this Boston-area songwriter knows how to write some pretty impressive folk-pop." And Phil Wyman, host of the Storytellers at the Gathering in Salem, MA writes, "[Laura's] warm, earthy vocals, comfortable stage presence, and easy rambling rhythms will comfort you like a crackling fire on the beach at night."
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