By Jane McDonald
Bellhoss, aka Becky Hostetler, shyly admits that she normally performs with a band, as she does on her 2019 album Geraniums, but for Headroom Sessions #36 she will be accompanied only by her electric guitar. Her demeanor warm and unassuming, she opens with the song Child, named for the vulnerable chorus where she references being loved like a child. Her lilting voice and honest melancholy lyrics soothe the listener the same way a good cry might, effortlessly endearing herself to them by the time the song ends.
Photo By Diana Yakhlef
Becky refers to her second track, the stripped-down Heart Apart, as her “winter song” because the lyrics came to her while “walking around in the snow, being sad at Christmas.” (Something all too relatable for anyone who’s ever had a family or been in a relationship in December.) Within the intimate song, she brings her voice to an enchanting pinnacle, pleading “take a little piece of my heart / push me to the limit I’ll fall apart.” The song closes with soft vocalization reminiscent of Joni Mitchell’s, the sense of falling snow lingering after the song is complete. Her closing song Geraniums #1 begins like a traditional Irish tune and is a departure from the personal, dealing with intuition and existential themes.
Bellhoss easily mixes genres laying somewhere between indie-folk and sadcore, but it is her delicate, raw and utterly lovely voice (and presence) that makes Bellhoss truly unique. This is one HRS artist that this self-admitted lover of female fronted and / or super-sad indie acts will be following closely! Catch Bellhoss next at Lost Lake on September 27th.