Tara Beier’s background is an interesting one, a tale of cross-cultural rootlessness and struggling to fully find one’s place. Like many a misfit, she found her solace in music, but having played classical piano for over a decade, she’s only recently begin writing her own songs. Born in Vancouver, with British, Scottish and Austrian heritage, her musical inspirations are similarly diverse, spanning, as her bio notes, indie folk, alternative, country and pop, drawing comparisons with Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Jewel. But on the evidence of ‘Hero & The Sage’, her debut album, Tara’s real strength is that while the influence of those artists is vaguely inferred, she sounds like none of them, and certainly she’s in thrall to no-one.
From the easy-going acoustic-led folk-pop of ‘Forever Mine’, though the contemplative mystical leanings of the rockier ‘Mayan Sun’ (which features some nifty slide guitar work) to ‘She’s Gone’, which incorporates elements of post-punk and country to good effect, her songs are charming, disarming. There’s a hint of both classic Fleetwood Mac and All About Eve about ‘Cellar Door,’ and across its twelve tracks, ‘Hero & The Sage’ boasts some tidy hooks are set against some solid tunes. She sounds assured, at ease, and perhaps she’s finally found herself a true home, at least artistically.
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Tara Beier Online
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