Tarnation

Paula Frazier's a pretty interesting woman. Growing up between Georgia, Arkansas, and San Francisco will do that to you I guess. The music she wrote as Tarnation is some of the best late-night driving music I've heard. The blanket of reverb-drenched guitars, slides, and brushes is the perfect backdrop for Frazier's beautiful voice. Her falsetto is just as powerful as her normal singing voice and her tone is very reminiscent of Patsy Cline. In fact, one of the things I always loved about Cline's voice was her ability to pierce through the music and stay out front while also being able to pull it back just in time to blend back into the sounds--Frazier is a master of this as well.



As far as I can tell, Tarnation was largely overlooked when they existed. It wasn't until I started going back through the 4AD catalog that I ran across them. I instantly picked up a copy of Gentle Creatures and was impressed.



Halfway to Madness
The perfect late-night driving song... if you're in the middle of the desert.

Big O Motel
This song sounds as if it should have been in the closing credits to Destiny Turns on the Radio.

Two Wrongs Won't Make Things Right
Should have been the background music in an episode of Twin Peaks.

Burn Again
Almost has a Twee-pop sound to it.