Tanya Tagaq pushes environmental message
TANYA TAGAQ “RETRIBUTION” (SIX SHOOTER)
Tanya Tagaq does not f—k around. The earth is dying, we are killing it and goddammit, this is what it sounds like. That much can be inferred by the beauty and the horror evoked by the sounds created by Tagaq and her band, violinist Jesse Zubot and percussionist Jean Martin. But mostly, of course, Tagaq, whose singing voice is can be sweet and fragile — and whose throat singing voice can be even more terrifying that Linda Blair in “The Exorcist.”
Despite the power of her music, the Polaris Prize-winning musician doesn’t entirely trust the listener enough to get her message. Her press release states frankly: “This album is about rape. Rape of women, rape of the land, rape of children, despoiling of traditional lands without consent.” In the event you don’t visit her website, there’s a cover of Nirvana’s “Rape Me” that closes the album, just in case you weren’t sure what it is you’ve just heard. (“I’m not the only one,” she coos, no doubt as a nod to the MMIW issue she’s been illuminating for years now, but even more powerful post-Ghomeshi/Cosby/Trump.)
She also has introduced spoken word segments into her music, again underscoring the urgency of her environmentalist message. It’s not subtle, and it’s not necessary: her music speaks volumes on its own. Some guests are welcomed into the fold: most effective are Tuvan throat singer Radik Tyülyüsh, a natural cross-cultural collaboration, and Toronto’s Element Choir, whose orchestrated shrieks and howls have often accompanied Tagaq’s Toronto shows, including performances at the Polaris gala and at Massey Hall. Shad shows up as well.
Sadly, still no sign of a dream jam with Diamanda Galas. Next time.
Stream: “Aorta,” “Retribution,” “Summoning”
JULY TALK “TOUCH” (SLEEPLESS)
More of the same, but better. If you’ve tuned into rock radio in the past five years, you’ve heard the hits from Toronto band July Talk’s 2011 debut album. As it picked up steam around the world, the band kept putting off the follow-up. Good on them: nothing about “Touch” sounds rushed or green; these songs were no doubt roadtested long before they perfected them in the studio. Nothing here departs from the band’s formula: crunchy, stomping guitar rock with co-ed lead singers, one gruff and one lovely. They harmonize and play off each other more here than they did on the debut, and to far greater effect. Tanya Tagaq shows up to help provide rhythm on “Beck and Call,” and there’s a lyrical nod to the police brutality of “starlight tours” and MMIW on “Jesus Said So.” July Talk might come across as a feel-good, visceral party band, but there’s more depth to them than that, and “Touch” is easily as good as mainstream rock gets in this country in 2016.
July Talk play Oct. 25 at Maxwell’s in Waterloo.
Stream: “Push and Pull,” “Strange Habit,” “Jesus Said So”
JOHN K. SAMSON “WINTER WHEAT” (ANTI)
The Weakerthans’ John K. Samson has emerged from his standard four-year hibernation period with his second solo album (albeit one that features 2/3 of his former bandmates). There’s a reason his fans are willing to wait so long for new material: because it’s always worth it. As always, every track here is a short story unto itself, populated by characters at crossroads in life — including, in an unusual twist for Samson, characters that could be perceived as autobiographical, namely aging punks reflecting on how those good old days might not have been so hot after all.
Samson’s sparse new musical environs suit his songs better than the oft-raging rock band he formerly fronted; full focus is on the lyrics, while a folkie, laid-back Neil Young vibe does its best to stay out of the way. On the few tracks where the tempo picks up, they’re driven entirely by acoustic guitars.
Samson has few peers as a lyricist: Gord Downie and Neko Case are in the same class, though all of course have their own unique style. Samson’s commitment to the simplicity of melodic folk structure, much like Leonard Cohen’s, makes his prose that much more inviting, drawing you further into the lives he chooses to illuminate.
John K. Samson has never made a bad record, and he sure isn’t going to start now.
Stream: “Select All Delete,” “Winter Wheat,” “Oldest Oak at Brookside”