a r t i s t : Tara Jane O'Neil
t i t l e : In Circles
d a t e : 2006
l a b e l : Quarterstick
c a t : QS96
s o u r c e : CDDA
g e n r e : Folk
r l s. d a t e : Sep/2006
t r a c k s : 10
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 46,8 MB
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Tara Jane O'Neil is a talented young lady - not only does she
manage to keep a steady release schedule of albums and EPs
(I'm sure we've had a couple this year alone) but she produces
all the music herself, plays it all herself and finds time to
create work as a painter. Not bad going really, and here on
her fourth album sheÆs come up with the best platform yet for
her haunting, homemade acoustic songs. What strikes me most
about her work is the fact that she can make such a simple
track sound so involving using only subtle sounds - something
I could compare maybe to Diane Cluck or Kranky's Dawn
Smithson, there's just something about the recording that
feels honest and involving. This is the key to the album's
success in the end, with the tracks falling somewhere between
Elliot Smith and Jim O'Rourke - heavily detailed songwriting
with magnificently imagined production flourishes and
instrumental prowess. "The Louder" for instance, with itÆs
shiver-inducing vocal melody, low-slung guitars and lulling
brushed percussion should be simply irresistible for any
self-respecting fan of singer-songwriter music. It should come
as no surprise that Tara Jane O'Neil has been connected with
such bands as Jackie O Motherf*cker and Papa M in the past,
she has pedigree which far surpasses many in her field and it
shows. Her willingness to experiment, which may have been more
evident on earlier albums, has set her in good stead for
producing an album such as this where her noisier leanings are
less evident. Instead of bringing them to the fore she has
buried these sounds beneath crisp, melancholy laments and
chirpy love-poems. If you have a soft spot for Nina Nastasia
or Emiliana Torrini, you should really look a little more
closely at Tara Jane O'Neil, you won't be disappointed.
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01-Primer [02:14]
02-A Partridge Song [02:17]
03-The Louder [03:29]
04-A Sparrow Song [05:15]
05-A Room For These [03:32]
06-Blue Light Room [03:17]
07-Need No Pony [03:38]
08-Fundamental Tom [01:34]
09-The Looking Box [04:23]
10-This Beats [05:14]
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34:53 min