Auk/Blood | Tanya Tagaq
My review of Tanya Tagaq’s Auk/Blood ran today in the Boston Phoenix.
I really liked this album in spite of a few distracting flaws, most of which had to do with a guest appearance by the horribly boring Canadian rapper Buck 65. Tanya Tagaq is a luminous singer and her guttural throat-singing is a powerful instrument. I was a huge fan of Bjork’s Medulla, on which Tagaq provided supporting vocals, and Auk/Blood resembles that work, at times.
She just needs to seize the focus more.
On “Hunger,” Tagaq is enrapturing. It’s sexy and dark and really gorgeous poetry, garnished with her vivid throat-singing and a spooky, ambient backdrop. Moments like this, where she truly takes control of the album and exposes herself to the listener, make Auk/Blood stronger and increases its allure.
The two Buck 65 tracks are just completely misplaced; his rhymes are strained and clunky, often juvenile or cliched, and he completely sucks the energy out of the disc. Fans of Bjork, and Medulla in particular, should check out Auk/Blood, criticisms notwithstanding. It’s a good disc by a compelling artist who hopefully blossoms into a more confident and focused performer on her future endeavors.
[tags]Tagaq, Tanya Tagaq Gillis, Auk/Blood, Throat Singing, Inuit, Canada, Album Review, Boston Phoenix, Mike Patton, Buck 65, Bjork, Medulla, Kronos Quartet[/tags]
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