Tara Jane O’Neil - To Trace A Raveling

I bought this record at a live show where I was running the sound here locally and before that night had never heard Tara Jane O’Neils music before. The show really caught me off guard as it was a really beautiful set of music. I chose this album randomly from her small selection of offerings at the merch table and I’m glad this is the one that I chose. It just appeared to be the most interesting of the bunch because of its hand made silk screening and lovely artwork. As soon as I arrived back at home I put the album on and it immediately became one of my favorite vinyl records to put on late at night as I was just lying around in bed.

The release is actually a combination of two EP’s from her and was released in this way as a limited edition pressing on a label called Mississippi Records that releases nothing but record in small quantities which are apparently somewhat hard to come by. The first half of the record, To Trace is three songs that blend seamlessly together as a whole and was released as an EP called Tracer which was released on a Japanese label originally as far as I know. The second half is from an EP called A Raveling and is my favorite side of the record because of its slow minimal approach. You will find plucked acoustic guitar, layered whispered vocals and an organic ambience that leaves you off and dreaming in no time. I love this music and its beautiful ability to fill my room with a calm that is as uplifting as it is relaxing and its dark sound is perfect for a relaxed late night.

While both EP’s were released in somewhat obscure ways, one on a Japanese label and the other on a Spanish label, A Raveling is more readily available as a digital purchase and is very much worth the small amount of money you would pay for them. The vinyl may be out there for sale somewhere but I’m not sure where to direct you outside of google for that.

iTunes Link (for the A Raveling side) • Artist Site

Tags: Tara Jane Oneil