After The Storm (EP)

Wow. Anyone familiar with Throwing Muses, Breeders, or Belly is already familiar with Tanya's strengths as a singer and guitarist. Her upcoming album, Beautysleep, is a showcase for her songwriting skills. More subtle than her earlier work, it is lush and sparse and focuses on the universal minutae in life. I wasn't really expecting anything this deep or artful and I'm pleasantly surprised. The lead EP (The Storm, After Your Party, Days of Grace, Last Rain) showed up unexpected and I decided to give it a shot. She mixes hints of her guitar grrrl past and teases with a rock 4-bar into Storm, but uses the punk poses as light accents on beautiful melodies and mostly acoustic backgrounds.

At times there's a Macy Gray-ish quality to her voice that is surprising and sort of jars you a moment, but ultimately enhances the overall effect quite nicely.

Lyrics like "it's like taking candy from a psycho" or "where are my enemies? Have they abandoned me" or "so glad to be here it's kind of pathetic" and "with our clothes on we're brave and mummified" are indicative of the mood and intent of her message. Tanya writes about the indecisions and inconsistencies of relationships and the self reflection that comes with maturity.