|
Austin, Texas denizens Tia Carrera consist of drummer
Erik Conn, guitarist Jason Morales, and bassist
Andrew Duplantis. Their third offering, which is untitled
but marked ACG 012 (for Australian Cattle God 012), is music that
takes the listener on a major drug trip. The opiate daze in the
guitar lines, the sedative drift of the drum rolls, and the tranquilizing
haze of the bass swells all ring with stoner rock keys and a flying
kite-like carpet ride. The band has been compared to Jimi Hendrix
and Black Sabbath but they have a Southern rock intonation
in their chord ruminations more aligned with the Allman Brothers,
The Grateful Dead, and Widespread Panic.
There are seven songs on Tia Carrera's third album, but I couldn't
tell them apart. The songs all drift into each other and whatever
incremental differences there are between the tracks, it is only
vaguely perceptible. There is a surreal quality in the songs,
like they are a shadow of the tale they are telling. All the songs
are instrumental pieces and they each keep the same composed tempo.
The songs are tightly seamed in that the instrument parts all
fit into each other and move in unison. There is a '70s tint in
their spin wheel psychedelics reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane
and Cream, but overall the tones reflect a more modern
rock spatiality, so you don't feel like you are listening to something
that is quite as dated.
Tia Carrera is a hometown favorite in Austin, Texas. Their on-stage
skills are touted for their improvised guitar leads and sweaty
headbanging drum rotations. Maybe their album is a shadow of their
on-stage presence because the album lacks such impetus. The songs
are filled with sensations reflective of narcotic aptitudes and
drug-induced penmanship so they feel languid. Such stoner psychedelics
were desirable in the '70s, and Tia Carrera has certainly shown
a liking for such Southern rock and stoner music and flexes them
into a sedate momentum.
-Susan Frances
Track listing:
1. Tone, Levels, and THC
2. Eastside Jive
3. Carrera!
4. Valentine's Blues
5. Countdown, Liftoff
6. At Altitude
7. End Transmission
Check out
more reviews
 Talk
Back
e-mail the chief
Like this article?
e-mail
it to a friend!
|
Tia
Carrera
