Tash Sultana popped onto my radar by giving one of the most enthusiastic performances of music I’d seen on her NPR Tiny Desk concert and her EP “Notion” firmly cements her guitar prowess.
Across the four studio tracks, Tash layers her guitar over itself in a whirlwind of lush, echoing riffs, patterns, solos and noise. Immediately with “Synergy”, you can feel a sheen of quality and depth in every layer of guitar used. Using her Aussie heritage, Saltana also manages to glide in percussion with a natural bounce and sway that really suits the lush and free-flowing style of her guitar playing. “Gemini” is more laid back and synth-heavy but it allows Tash to really shine vocally in different octaves. The two huge tracks that absolutely stole my breath away though are “Notion” and “Jungle”. Both tracks are relatively simple in their base set up but Tash’s guitar skills, vocal empathy and ability to make some many riffs all lilt into each other perfectly is a joy to behold and listen to. You can have these tracks on repeat for half an hour and still discover new things to love.
Curiously the EP then has two live tracks. “Big Smoke Part 1 and 2” which show Tash basically noodling her guitar for most of it like she’s improvising before and after the actual song. Her energy bursts through the speakers and over the twenty-minute session, I’m sure she only probably plays a song for about 4 minutes of it but between the guitar, vocals and beatboxing – it’s just a sound wash of awesomeness.
Quite frankly, I can’t wait for a full LP from Tash Sultana. I haven’t been this excited for a guitar player for some time. You should get excited too.
Recommended Track: Jungle