Daily Staff Writer

Silence

Tara MacLean

Tara MacLean’s debut release, Silence, is a fantastic voyage into the emotion that lies behind her gorgeous voice and the lush melodies that support her powerful lyrics. Considering the way she entered into the music industry, this is rather surprising.

MacLean was discovered in a rather unorthodox manner. She never submitted a demo tape or played a single show before she started recording her music.

She was discovered by Nettwerk Records while singing on a ferry that was traveling from Victoria, British Columbia to Salt Spring Island. Realizing that they had stumbled onto something special, the label signed her and immediately started working on a single, “Let Her Feel the Rain”, which appeared on two different Nettwerk compilations (Lit From Within and Slowbrew).

This song received heavy radio airplay and earned her an opening spot on the Dave Matthews Band tour.

“Let Her Feel the Rain” is featured in a regular and acoustic version on her debut CD. It is a beautiful song that reveals the range of her voice and the depth of her emotional soul.

The song contains such thoughtful lyrics as “captured in a photograph without a frame/I see you standing tall/but I see no face to blame/And did she say she loved you/well you know that’s really nice/because they say that when she cries/her tear drops turn to ice.”

Songs such as “Evidence”, “Holy Tears” and “If You Could” display her talent for writing songs that portray the gentleness of humankind and evoke emotionally charged reactions.

They are likely to draw comparisons to such female vocalists as P.J. Harvey, Joan Osborne and Jewel. Just like her contemporaries, MacLean has an amazing voice that illustrates a picturesque, vibrant world through haunting lyrics.

On “That’s Me”, “More” and “Red”, MacLean allows the artists who create the melodies behind the song to memorably show-off their skills.

Unfortunately, MacLean doesn’t have a solid band as of yet. The artists who back her change from song to song.

Every song on Silence is practically a tear-jerker. It is the beautiful tone of her voice mixed with the delicate soundscape and emotional lyrics that invoke this response.

Music fans should definitely keep their eyes on this developing star, as she has the potential to become our generation’s equivalent to Whitney Houston. Silence is a stunning debut from an entirely unexpected source.

4 Stars

— Ben Jones

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All ratings are based on a scale of zero to five stars with five being superb and zero being trash.

Editor’s note: Tara MacLean will be playing at the M-Shop tonight at 8 p.m.