Music Scene International: Bell - A Clear Sense of Beauty CD

Proclaiming bluesy, defiant pop and rocking beyond boundaries into noise, folk and metal, Bell's songs have long moved club audiences with power, surgical accuracy and fearless confrontation of painful realities. Vocalist Vanessa Veselka has shared the stage with talent such as Michelle Shocked, Faith No More and The Ramones.

If truth alone liberated. all prisons both personal and punitive would crumble at "A Clear Sense of Beauty." the new CD from Seattle quartet Bell. Proclaiming defiant pop or rock with many flavors," singer songwriter, guitarist Vanessa Veselka's songs have long moved club audiences with power, surgical accuracy, and fearless conformation of painful realities. Those songs are now available on Y Records.

As will blues singers and old testament prophets, Bell's music laments life's dilficulty. yet chimes poetic over other, more serene topics. One gripping passage in a song titled "Upon Greater Reflection" demands Veselka's vocals build from a sultry whisper to a throaty howl as the protagonist decides to stop waiting for her life to start. because, for better or worse, life is here.