In Tara Angell I hear a unique and beautifully vulnerable voice, refusing to sugarcoat bitter everyday tragedies, but instead fearlessly linger in mysteries dark, and then surprise with sweet eroticism and intangible selfempowerment Lucinda Williams
Tara Angell's "Come Down" is the darkest and truest record since early Black Sabbath Daniel Lanois
...a beautiful record that is dark, heartbreaking and tough at the same time Ron Sexsmith
This New York singersongwriter knows about heavy: the lonesome, quiet kind, where the sinner's wages of Marianne Faithfull's saloon songs meet the spectral defiance of Lucinda Williams' country blues. Produced by Joseph Arthur with the haunted touch of Bob Dylan's Time Out of Mind, Come Down was one of 2005's pleasures: compelling, psychedelicized darkness streaked with reassuring light David Fricke, Rolling Stone Magazine
...Occasional poptoned musings brighten the emotionally raw tone without diluting Angell's gratifying, disturbing power... Linda Laban, Boston Herald
...4 STARS...Her songs are simply executed but crafted in a careful way, and thats exactly where the bite is its kind of like a sucker punch. Sometimes witty, sometimes sarcastic, and always lamenting, Tara Angell has found a way to forever be good... Pulse Weekly
4 STARS...Lucinda Williams must enjoy her worldweary vocals and obvious love of late1960s Stones (from the popshuffle of Hollow Hope to the slow, country twang of Untrue); the uberproducer Lanois, meanwhile, must rate the beautifully flawed production by singersongwriter Joseph Arthur that (almost incredibly) was the result of only five days in the studio. That working week created one of the most fully realized debuts you'll hear for a long time. London Times
...Angell's voice has shades of Patti Smith, Marianne Faithfull and Juliana Hatfield, but her attitude is one of a teenager who delights in death stares, drunken melancholia verging on pained hysteria. Words are uncomfortably drawn out, phrases repeated, and the oohooh backing vocals are chilling. This is an evocative debut. Betty Clarke, The Guardian
SOME EURO PRESS
"Rif Raf-Belgium (translated from Flemish)
Tara Angell
‘Come Down’
Rykodisc/Rough Trade
Noir de noir. ‘Come Down’ is like a cloud full of rain that slowly appears above our heads and threatens to burst at any time. The sound carpet of traditional country and blues instruments, that was created by Joseph Arthur for Tara Angell, lays as ponderous but oh so beautiful on the heart like the rug Daniel Lanois designed for Emmylou Harris and her ‘Wrecking Ball’ in 1995. The crack in Angell’s voice is obviously the easiest to compare with Marianne Faithfull but bears also a little bit of Thalia Zedek. A song like ‘The World Will Match Your Pain’ sounds as tormenting and painful as the title can presume. ‘Bitch Please’ is a cheerful Kate & Anna McGarrigle-break in all this beautiful suffering. “There is no silver lining / When it comes to you and me,†she says towards the end while some gorgeous backing vocals are pursuing her. Call it alt.country. Call it emo rock. Call it whatever you want. We call it heart achingly beautiful. "mlv
"Humo, Belgium 3371, 16 april 2005Tara Angell released 'Come Down' two years ago on her own, but is now
also released eventually in Europe. Fortunately, because the New Yorker
has made an indelible impression on us. We're in good company, because
also Daniel Lanois, Ron Sexsmith and Lucinda Williams outed themselves
as Tara Angell fans.
How does Tara sound? One time we think about the Rolling Stones without
glamour. Other times Marianne Faithfull in her 'Broken English' period.
Another time we hear Cowboy Junkies with a rusty heroine needle in the
arms. But we also heard in Tara the granddaughter of Patti Smith and a
perfect extramarital relationship with Nick Cave. Tara can rock as a
beast ('Hollow Hope') and loves a joke during lunch ('Bitch Please'),
but she's at her best when the tempo's low and the atmosphere
oppressive, for example in winners like 'When You Find Me', 'Don't Blame
Me', 'Uneven' and 'Silver Lining'. At those moments her music turns into
something very unheimlich - that voice! those little choirs! that
organ!- and Tara sounds suddenly very old and wise, while nevertheless
being young and blonde. Everytime it makes our skin crawl - you can come
and check it out, if you don't believe us.
Finally, let us also pay tribute to producer Joseph Arthur, who
recorded this masterpiece in only five days and delivered a bald but
very spooky sound. U2 and all those other billion dollar corporations
won't tell you so, but you really don't need months to work on a good
record. (mdj)
"Urgent request: keep an eye on Tara Angell."
-Lennart Persson, Sonic Magazine
"Tara Angell really is a rare discovery...genuine & unusually touching."
-Johan Cronquist, Ostgota Correspondenten
"So damn good that it stops time, just to prove that this moment is so important that time is irrelevant."
-Mats Bergqvist, Rootsy
"Come Down" is darkness, but also beauty and truth. And essential listening."
-Nicklas Gustafsson, Musiklandet
The album was recorded in just five days, and the beauty of the disc flows from the urgency of Angell's vocals. With a smoky, weary voice she flirts with the fuzzy guitar and eerie organ that accompanies her on alluring songs like "The World Will Match Your Pain" and "When You Find Me." This lo-fi Lower East Side girl has crossed some dirty streets to find songwriting inspiration, and that heartbreak shines through convincingly on this compelling collection. -Hartford Courantwww.taraangell.com