Sounds like…

A pop-rock songwriter enjoying their rocker side.

The review

Australian rocker Tanaya Harper has been carving out her own pop-rock niche and with ‘Montreal’ she moves deeper into the rockier side of her musical world. On my review of her 2020 EP ‘Slow Motion Breakup’ I described her as the lovechild of Tanya Donelly and Natalie Imbruglia. This largely remains and is still an absolute asset. Her voice and songwriting craft continue to make you swoon.

The title track is the setpiece here. ‘Montreal’ is a gentle, hushed rock piece that lets Harper sing softly into your ear like a faery. The guitars are hazy, distanced and light and even the drums are just a trickle. It’s totally different to most of her music beforehand and on this release too. For example ‘Slow Motion Breakup 2.0’ is a blitz of rushing guitars and smashing drums building up to the breakup. It lets go to nearly a minute of distant outro guitar noise and echoes and is an artistic way to exploring the vast void a breakup can leave you in sonically. It’s a vastly more dramatic and visceral rendition than its dreamy original. The other two tracks are the Spaghetti infused rock of ‘Emma’ that feels like a Belly track in waiting and ‘Bad Faith’ which is a big and bold rock number showcasing Tanaya’s vocal chops. It includes a massively euphoric outro where she really lets her lungs and voice stretch and shine alongside a big guitar riff. It’s lovely to see the vast difference between this and the quiet moments of the title piece.

It may be Tanaya Harper’s shortest EP to date but it’s another fine addition to her releases. Fans of 90’s rock will enjoy themselves here. I’m very keen to see whether Tanaya continues with the EP releases or wants to tackle an album. Both have their merits and it is clear she can write rock with ease. Another excellent Aussie songwriter is coming into bloom.

Recommended track: Montreal

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