Album Review – Bella White’s “A Sign In The Weather”

Americana (#570) on the Country DDS.

Like something sweet left outside for any extended period of time in the summer, the voice of Bella White attracts a multitude of living things with its siren-like quality calling out for yearning hearts to come be filled from its bounty of goodness. It’s through this gift that the Calgary-born songwriter who grew up on bluegrass and Appalachian music has launched an enterprising career of moody Americana.

Signed to Rounder Records, Bella White could have taken the more conventional route and moved to Nashville when she relocated south of the border. But respecting the autonomy of her sound and musical perspective, she has instead landed in New Orleans, side-stepping the sameness some of the East Nashville community can suffer from, while allowing just a little bit of Cajun influence to creep into her music, like the triangle that emerges near the end of her new song “Little Things.”

But Bella’s third album A Sign In The Weather is less about the “where,” and more about the “who,” or maybe the “who not.” As a whole, it’s a breakup record, and a broken-hearted one. Each song finds Bella in a ruminative, moody state, full of second-guessing, sometimes regret, sometimes maybe even a little bitterness and anger, but also allowing glimmers of thankfulness to shine through for figuring out who her life would not work with before it didn’t for eternity.

The inspirations behind the album appear to be validated when Bella appears in the video for the single “Stuff” wearing a wedding dress in the rain, with mascara streaking down her cheeks. To be honest, with the immediacy of some of the emotions, the writing can sometimes fail to connect with a wider audience. Some of these songs feel like they were written for an audience of one: Bella White. But some strong melodies and carefully curated music make sure a deep appeal is still achieved during the listening experience.

The other most important observation from a swim through A Sign In The Weather is that Bella has ever so moderated the expressiveness of her vocal delivery to positive results. Of course, White’s voice is where the allure for her artistry is its most concentrated. But as Saving Country Music delicately observed while poderning White’s last album in 2023, “You do wonder in certain moments if Bella White isn’t a little too expressive and artistic with her vocal delivery, leaving the beauty of the melody or the groove of the rhythm behind for the sake of creating an unconventional experience.”

On A Sign In The Weather, White slightly dries her delivery out to the point where it lays down in the groove as opposed to skipping over it, and minds the melody without sacrificing the distinctiveness of the moments. In other words, this is the Bella White we’ve been wanting to hear, more comfortable in her own skin, and not feeling like she needs to strain herself to give into audience expectations of being so distinctive. She’s more herself inside her naturally occurring character.

Bella White’s music has never been straight bluegrass or Appalachia folk, but mixes strong notions of these influences into more contemporary Americana music. On this album though, with so much heartbreak to communicate, the extra dose of steel guitar on certain tracks really helps express the emotion of moments, and is a welcomed addition to country fans that is tastefully rendered.

Bella White might be a more expressive singer, but it’s her more demure nature that also allows the imagination of the audience to enhance her music naturally, giving Bella the latitude to be more sparse and reserved without sacrificing the richness of the experiences. The audience is tasked with attentiveness to not allow some moments to become tedious on this album. But those who are willing to devote their attention to it, or are drawn to her like moths to light, they will find this album quite fulfilling.

8/10

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Stream/Purchase A Sign In The Weather