Tara Jane O'Neil - The Joy Of... EP
(Acuarela)
"If Your Youth is Green" is quintessential Tara Jane O'Neil—her chilling,
sepulchral vocals layered atop more vocals and a discordant guitar figure,
electronic oscillations adding to the unsettling atmosphere and featuring that
little twist in melody that opens the song as wide as a thundercloud split
by lightning. Of course, it's as beautiful as anything she's ever written. So is "Ahn Fahr," a surprisingly faithful version of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On
Fire" (faithful right down to the high-pitched "hee-hee"s that conclude the
song; the Boss' falsetto sounded better, though). It might seem like an odd
cover choice, but hearing Tara sing the lyrics, it makes perfect sense—"Sometimes it's like someone took a knife, baby, edgy and dull, and cut a
six-inch valley through the valley of my soul." "High Wire," featured on her
last LP, is here in an acoustic version, with sparse, elaborate accompaniment
from a melodica, violin, and a tambourine. And the final track, "All Jewels
Redux," is a burbling, wheezing contraption, showing brief signs of life before
slowly fading away. Needless to say, if you're already a fan, this is a
must-have. If you're on the fence, this just might put you on steady ground.
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