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Molo Review: Kate Tucker at the Crocodile
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Last Thursday I finally went to the new Crocodile (a bit late to the party) to catch an act I’ve al...Last Thursday I finally went to the new Crocodile (a bit late to the party) to catch an act I’ve also been meaning to see for a long time: Kate Tucker.
The new Crocodile is a really nice space – almost too nice. It’s so damn clean, and covered with lovely wood and fancy steel railings. This is not the place where I saw the Wrens’ lead singer climb a stack of amps and nearly hit his head on the ceiling; nor is it the place where Scott Lucas from Local H rocked a show in a gorilla suit before twenty-five enthusiastic fans.
The other night it felt like I stepped onto the set for a show like One Tree Hill, which is fitting, considering that Kate Tucker had a song featured on that very program once. I’m not surprised Kate got that song on OTH (is that what the kids call it?), her songs of love and heartbreak, loss and hope are so well crafted they could lend credibility to any melodramatic moment on such a program. Despite the inevitable hipster backlash from such an endeavor (will they ever forgive Modest Mouse for that car commercial?), Kate Tucker still writes a great song.
Read the full review after the jump.
The performance at the Croc showcased the mature, lovely, tight sound from the new album, White Horses, lushly fleshed out by a full backing band of Blake Wescott (guitars), Ed O’Brien (bass), Johanna Cranitch (keys/vocals), and a drummer I only heard referred to as “Alex.” The show was a CD release celebration for White Horses and homecoming of sorts – as local girl Kate has been off traveling for some time but is back in Seattle.
After the show, I had a chance to give the new album a thorough listen. In songs like the standout “Carry The Weight (I wanted you)” there’s a sense of sadness and loss conveyed with quiet moments building to dramatic climax. Kate is at her best when she sings with a breathy falsetto, which sounds a bit like a higher-pitched version of Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star). The melody of “To Feel Alive” perfectly matches the mood, creating an environment for Kate’s vocals to swim in. Less appealing are tracks like “Stained Glass,” which falls too easily into a standard alt-country zone with some heavy metaphors and a little unnecessary organ.
After seeing the performance and listening to the album, I have one nagging question – why isn’t this band famous yet? With the release of White Horses I would not be surprised to see that all change very soon.
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Writer of the Week: American Songwriter
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Part Southern Gothic, part Northern hymn, Kate Tucker’s music is a thorough exploration of the tradi...Part Southern Gothic, part Northern hymn, Kate Tucker’s music is a thorough exploration of the traditions that have shaped the Ohio-born, Seattle-based artist since she performed her first song, at the age of nine, a cappella for an Easter Sunday congregation. Born into a family of truckers, her work is influenced by the American road with themes of departure, distance, love lost and reborn. Kate’s songs move from molasses-heavy rock to elegant, haunting ballads borne on the wings of her fragile, but insistent voice. Be sure to check our her profile on American Songspace.
When did you start writing songs?
When I was sixteen my dad went to California to visit my godfather, Kevin Ryan. Kevin is a guitar builder. I told my dad he’d better not come back without a guitar for me. Kevin had a three year long waiting list at the time, so he sent me the only guitar he had lying around. It was the first guitar he’d ever built. That sealed it for me. I thought, I had better get down to business and learn how to play this thing. So I wrote my first songs, cause I didn’t know how to play anyone else’s.
Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden produced a bunch of great tracks that, in a way, branded your style. How did your decision to approach White Horses as a solo project affect the recording process?
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Although White Horses is a Kate Tucker record, I don’t consider it a solo effort. It has a full band feel and sound to it, perhaps more so than the Sons of Sweden record. The recording process was definitely more spontaneous and open ended this time around. I had to let go and let the music happen moment to moment, whereas before, with the Sons of Sweden, we mapped out every step before we set foot in the studio. It was a bit scary to do it this way, not knowing how an arrangement would play out until we were tracking it, but I had a clearer vision for the overall sound than I did with the previous record. Ultimately, its about the songs and if they hold up, they hold up; you just go in and give em some love.
You recorded White Horses with the help of Blake Wescott at the legendary Studio Litho in Seattle. How did working with Blake contribute to your writing and recording?
Blake is amazing. This record would not be the same without his constant and thoughtful presence. He told me from the beginning that he was going to push me with this record to get performances that were both strong and emotive. He warned me that this record wasn’t going to be an easy one to make, but he knew I had it in me. I’d written nearly all the songs before we started working together, but they came alive in pre-production. Blake was able to translate my sometimes vague and impressionistic visions into something real and solid. He understood where I was going and he knew how to get us there. He is an incredible engineer, musician, singer and songwriter in his own right. His guitar playing on the record is spot-on, but it’s his voice and his BGV arrangements that really get me. I can’t wait to be back in the studio with him.
Did you arrive at Litho with a concrete notion of how you ultimately wanted the album to turn out, or did you let the music evolve more naturally throughout the recording process?
I had a pretty strong sense of how I wanted it to sound, but I wasn’t sure it was possible. When Blake and I first met to talk about working together, I gave him a list of albums I wanted to consider for sounds, tones, arrangements, and overall mood. I expected him to tell me I was crazy. He just said, “I dig it, we can totally do this.” He said it with enough conviction that I believed him. Well, he was right. But it wasn’t easy. We did twenty days straight in the studio and we will never do that again. Somewhere in the middle we ran out of time for pedal steel, lost our string section, and found an amazing organ player named Ty Baillie who really made sense of the record in a way that was unexpected and beautiful. I said from the beginning that I wanted Hammond B3 on every track. I got it and I got it good.
Your music is dictated by an array of complex undertones, but for the sake of conversation I will broadly generalize it as “emotionally revealing.” Have you always made an effort to invest so much of yourself personally in each song?
I don’t make a conscious effort to invest myself personally in my songs, but I suppose it is inevitable that I show up in them in one way or another. I only know what I know and I get what I get when it comes to writing. A lot of times I’ll think I’m writing someone else’s story, but it ends up being my own or at least some small part of my experience informs the song. I picture something. I usually see a place in time and colors and feel a certain mood. It’s often unclear to me what a song is about until I’ve sung it a hundred times and had people ask me if it was about me, or this situation, or that experience. That’s why I don’t like to tell people what songs are about. Sometimes they know better. And I think songs are about so much more than any one person, including myself, realizes. If my songs are emotionally revealing, emotions are a complex and unpredictable force in our lives. What we do with them is often what determines our own stories. When I’m moved to tears while singing a line that’s just been formed, I know I’m onto something.
There is a lot of pressure in the music industry to adhere to a certain genre or popular niche. What has given you the wherewithal to retain your own unique voice? Is it the love you get from fans, or your own passion for songwriting and self-discovery that keeps you motivated?
Well, if no one listened to the records, I might figure I was doing something wrong and should maybe try something different, so its definitely the support of listeners that has kept me going. That said, trying to please anyone but yourself and the songs is really kind of dangerous. The industry is so unpredictable, as far as I’m concerned, you really can’t succeed at being anything but yourself if you’re serious about your craft and your songs. That’s something that keeps me going. I have to write songs, so long as they’re there to be written. If I’m serving the work, it will be honest and true and unique. That’s what people identify with, I hope.
When is White Horses set to drop, and what can we expect from you for the rest of 2010?
White Horses is out June 29. I’m in the middle of a pledge drive with kickstarter.com to fund the release and a tour. I have my own little record label Red Valise Recordings, but really, it’s been my fans and friends who have supported me along the way through buying records and coming out to shows. I wouldn’t be able to do this without them. In 2010, I’ll be releasing three music videos for the new album, one filmed in Ohio, one in New York, and one in New Orleans. I’ll also be starring in a film that should be out sometime in early 2011. It’s a modern day musical and will feature my music as the soundtrack. If all goes as planned and we reach our goal at kickstarter.com, we’ll be touring the US this summer and into the fall. In the meantime, I’m working on a song cycle called Ohio, modeled loosely after Springsteen’s Nebraska.
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Akron's New Favorite Daughter
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Akron has had favorite sons from Devo to Joseph Arthur to The Black Keys, but the torch might get pa...Akron has had favorite sons from Devo to Joseph Arthur to The Black Keys, but the torch might get passed from favorite daughter Chrissie Hynde to the up and coming Kate Tucker.
This young lady, who grew up in Akron and found her way to Seattle, released Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden in 2007 and received some critically acclaimed airplay within the Starbucks Coffee store chain. Two of her songs later appeared on the company’s compilation CD’s Have You Heard in 2008 and Sweetheart in 2009.
But Kate has returned to Akron after finishing up her latest record White Horses, which will be released on June 29th. Kate’s beautiful soft soprano voice is what makes her music stand out. Part melodic and part gothic, she writes songs that pierce through your heart with a sharp edge blade. From the opening track “Blue December” to the finale “First To Leave”, Tucker takes the listener on a journey using all vintage instruments and amplifiers. "I wrote these songs as I was facing some serious questions I had buried along the way, questions about faith and love and the sustainability of relationships in a constantly changing landscape" says Kate adding “I suppose I made White Horses for myself as much as anyone, to find my own voice and sing out into the darkness.” Songs like the album’s lead single “Where Are You (I Am Already Gone), “Stained Glass” featuring a Hammond B3 organ , and the gorgeous “First Day of The Year” are some of the excerpts you should sample.
Although Tucker used a new resource where independent artists create an internet pledge drive page to fund a portion of the production expenses, it really comes down to the fans and friends who have bought records and go out to see the shows that made the new LP a reality. Along with touring, Tucker will begin acting this summer in a film about music therapy which features her music as the soundtrack that should be out sometime in 2011.
To hear tracks and see a listing of upcoming shows, visit www.myspace.com/katetuckermusic or www.facebook.com/katetucker
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Kate Tucker: Song Ghost Repurposed
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Kate Tucker sings beautiful and lonesome songs. Her pristine, Ohio born take on honky-tonk frames t...Kate Tucker sings beautiful and lonesome songs. Her pristine, Ohio born take on honky-tonk frames the grandeur of heartache and sentience. Sparse, well placed layers and instrumentation let her lyrics and crystalline vocals reveal each song’s centerpiece. Tucker hides nothing. She’s “running out of air.” It’s impending, but balanced, a lucid blues, with lenses into situations and emotion. Her sound planes and grows cleanly, like a shadow that’s been traced on the sidewalk with chalk. Tucker is the type of songwriter that goes through phases where songs find her. They’re in her head, waiting to be played. She’s able to let them out, and leave them intact. A new Tucker album is forthcoming called White Horses, recorded in Seattle’s sacred Studio Litho with Blake Wescott (David Bazan, Damien Jurado, the Posies).
Kate Tucker: "Where Are You (I Am Already Gone)"
** Kate Tucker plays tomorrow night, Friday, Jan. 22nd, at the Comet with Goldfinch / Hallways / Drew Grow & the Pastor’s Wives. Then she’s heading to New York for shows and songwriting. She spoke:
“Where Are You (I Am Already Gone)” seems like a heavy hitter. There's weight and urgency. A combination of your words and voice. It seems intimate. Did you purposefully set out to be revealing? Or are the lyrics more objective?
Tucker: I wrote this song alone in our practice space a week before we went into the studio, just playing and singing, music and lyrics, all of it came together in one night. At that time we had already chosen thirteen songs to track. I wasn’t looking for another, wasn’t trying to write, was really just focused on preparing for the session. But I’ve learned that whenever I need to be doing something else, that’s when a song will come and almost force its way into life. There was a period of time this past summer where I’d go to the space and as soon as I turned on my amp, there’d be a song, almost all there, sometimes missing a verse or a line, but there. There are four songs on the record that came last minute like that, but “Where Are You (I Am Already Gone)” was the last of the crew, and the least expected. I don’t think I really knew what I was talking about at the time. I mean, I did, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. Music is always true, good music at least, good songs know what they’re saying even when we don’t. Sometimes I think I write to the future, maybe there is something to the idea of self-fulfilling prophecy. But it’s a future determined by the past and the past is something we all know well enough.
And the reference to Neil Young’s “Ohio”. A reference to where you're from? Or the wars the US is involved in? Or maybe an internal war or struggle?
I think you’ve covered all the bases. I almost didn’t leave that line in there, thought it was filler as it came so fast and obviously isn’t mine, but I couldn’t find a better way to say it, so I let it be. Was thinking of home as I wrote the song, so maybe that’s where my subconscious pulled it from. It ended up conveying more meaning than I anticipated or could have expressed on my own.
What’s the instrumentation for the song? What are you playing? How many vocal takes did you do? How did the song come together?
I don’t remember how many vocal takes, probably two or three. We would usually do three just in case. Blake was really pushing me to go for performance on this album. I wanted it to sound real and it was difficult for me at spots to let things go, but as I got into it, I started to believe in in it more. It's a fine line to walk. Nobody sounds good crying. I played my Epiphone ‘Elitist’ Sheraton (awful name for their fabulous custom series) through a late sixties AC30. We used the same pre-amps on the guitar that were used on the Beatles' Abbey Road. I wanted it to sound a little like Jeff Buckley’s guitar on "Hallelujah" and a little like the guitar on Cat Power’s "The Moon". The song really wasn’t together at all when we went in. I tracked it in the wrong key. It didn’t sound right. I retracked it and waited for string arrangements that weren’t ever to come. When the strings fell through we decided to throw down some background vocals. Blake sang a couple layers, I added one on the last chorus. Then we backburnered it till we came up with something more. We’d been listening to the remasters of Abbey Road and Magical Mystery Tour to give our ears a break. Blake wanted to try out some Mellotron, so he came up with those two themes and they ended up elevating it in exactly the right way. Simplest song on the album. Felt very lonesome tracking it.
Your songs are personal. And being revealing isn’t always the easiest thing. But your being personal adds to the songs. It’s a tricky thing, but you pull it off well. It’s all inherent with your sound. How do feel about being open? How do you feel about being perceived?
Well, I don’t really think much about how I’m perceived, perhaps this record will teach me better. I write what I write. I don’t have a lot of choice in the matter. I suppose I could choose not to let anyone hear it, but I’d rather risk it I guess. As much as I enjoy listening to an artfully layered composition, with surprising twists and turns, I’ve always loved simple songs, simple shapes and progressions and sounds, classic sounds. What I want to hear most of the time is a mood, not a composition. So I guess I don’t shoot for much more when it comes to my own songs. I’ve got a voice and a guitar and something to say most of the time. That’s where it starts and ends.
You are getting ready to go to New York. How often do you play out there? Where will you be playing?
I play NYC at least twice a year. I love it there. What’s there not to like about New York? I’ll be playing Rockwood Music Hall 1/24, 11th St Bar 1/26, Pete’s Candy Store 1/28, and The Living Room 1/30.
You’ll be staying at the Chelsea Hotel? What’s this about a haunting? Please divulge. What happened? How were you haunted?
I was out there to play CMJ and a friend of mine was staying at the Chelsea. We were doing a photo shoot there and she let me crash with her that night after warning me it was haunted. I didn’t quite believe her, though the shoot did feel kind of spooky. I came in after she was asleep totally unprepared for the haunting. I can’t go into details for fear of attracting the ghost since I’m headed there again soon. But I will say that I had a strange out of body experience and woke the next morning convinced something was there with me. My friend checked out early and I stayed till noon, determined to write a song and understand what had happened. I wrote two songs and still don’t understand what happened.
Any other plans for the trip? Do you think you’ll be haunted again?
I’d like to write a song a day while I’m there. Not sure yet what I’ll be doing with the songs, it depends on how they turn out. I’ve been doing a little research on the hotel and hope to ‘repurpose’ some old stories and voices. It might just be the starting point, but I figure I’ll have plenty of time in the afternoons to chill with the ghosts. I don’t plan on sleeping.
How was recording with Blake at Litho?
Amazing. I love Big City. That’s his real name. This was the first time I went into the studio without having all the parts mapped out and under control. It was also the first time I went in without ‘my band’ so to speak. In the past I would spend months with one lineup preparing to record. But I felt like I knew what I was going for this time more than ever and Blake totally understood my vision and was more than capable of communicating that to everyone involved. Spontaneity made the record.
How much did he evolve the songs?
Blake was very much a part of the process. I had the songs sorted out beforehand, lyrically, melodically, even structurally, but he shaped them to express the somewhat variegated vision I had attempted to communicate from the beginning. I knew it was meant to be when I sent him the first email, my manifesto of sorts, on how I wanted this record to be informed by The Black Angels, The Black Keys, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Cowboy Junkies, Innocence Mission, Low, Fleetwood Mac, Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and Neko Case. He totally got it. Even before I really did. He also played a mean lead guitar on the record that I would never have been able to pull off. But my favorite Blake Wescott contribution has to be the background vocal arrangements. He was all over that shit. Sometimes I sang the parts, sometimes he did, and when he did he sure nailed something special.
Is that lineup going to be playing with you live?
Our live lineup is a bit different, though I’m sure we’ll play some shows in that original lineup when the stars align. For now Blake and Casey are on tour with Dave Bazan. I’ve still got Ed O’Brien (bass) and Ty Baillie (organ), thank my lucky stars, and then the fortuitous addition of Bryn Lumsden on guitars, Brian Papenfuss on drums, and Johanna Cranitch on keys and back ground vocals. There are a LOT of bgv’s on the record so Johanna might be the most important member of the band at this point.
How and when is the album coming out?
I was hoping to release this record on my own little label, Red Valise Recordings, as I did the last two. But we are out of money at this point so I’m looking for a label to call home. I’m gonna do my best to get this record out by summer. I’ve got lots of new songs to lay down.
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DIY Pick of the Month
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"The self-titled debut by Seattle singer Kate Tucker and the curiously dubbed Sons of Sweden entices..."The self-titled debut by Seattle singer Kate Tucker and the curiously dubbed Sons of Sweden entices with a whisper rather than a scream through songs both beautiful and complex. Stirred from a mix of emotions—equal parts angst and anticipation—the music carries a mysterious undertow that’s genuinely affecting.
That sleepy suggestion takes root in Tucker’s ethereal vocals, which have been frequently compared to Beth Orton, Mazzy Star and Neko Case. Add Sinéad O’Connor to that list, given the emphatic desire that frames her delivery. “The Way You Went,” “The Hours” and “Saturday Night” find the band adding conviction to her caress, while a duet with Damien Jurado on “In the End” hints at even greater glories to come."
Performing Songwriter, May 2008
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Music Reviews: Indie Roundup- Kate Tucker
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Kate Tucker's airy vocals drift on warm beds of arpeggiated guitars and gently throbbing organ, all ...Kate Tucker's airy vocals drift on warm beds of arpeggiated guitars and gently throbbing organ, all with plenty of reverb. With a touch of the prettified honesty of Sara McLachlan, a measure of the insistent glitter of Blondie, a tiny touch of twang, and a backbone of plainspoken, often drony mid-tempo songs, this is a nice disc for a hazy summer evening. There's nothing original here, but it has what's more important: a soulful sincerity that melds just right with its pensive sound.
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WXPN My Morning Download
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“Originally from Ohio, singer-songwriter Kate Tucker made her way to Seattle where she met the music...“Originally from Ohio, singer-songwriter Kate Tucker made her way to Seattle where she met the musicians who would be become her future Swedes. Tucker sounds a little bit like Beth Orton and Neko Case (to my ears), and her self-titled debut is a confident collection of multi-textured and colorful rock based songs. We say: keep your ears on the lookout for Kate Tucker!”
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Pick of the Week
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Whether performing solo or with her former band, the Sons of Sweden, Kate Tucker has always been ex...Whether performing solo or with her former band, the Sons of Sweden, Kate Tucker has always been extremely pleasant to listen to. Her voice is high and pretty, her songs mellow and dreamy, and her appearance far surpassing mere cuteness. So what’s not to like? Well, nothing, unless you, like many, have grown fatigued with what’s become an overplayed genre unto itself—a genre whose cookie-cutter performers mostly resemble Kate Tucker. Thankfully for Tucker, her new album, White Horses, finds her stampeding out of this box and into Cowboy Junkies territory. “Blue December” is one of the best local tracks to be released thus far this year, and “Where Are You (I Am Already Gone)” isn’t far behind. The new album has more melancholy and depth to it, which, when set against her prior work, makes it not only tolerable, but wonderful. With Gabriel Mintz, Joshua Morrison. MIKE SEELY
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Diamond in the Rough
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Wandering in to the NW Court I was greeted by a charming and personable introduction from the stage:...Wandering in to the NW Court I was greeted by a charming and personable introduction from the stage: "Hi, we're Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden," said Kate Tucker. Immediately someone from the audience replied: "And you ROCK!"
I couldn't argue. Tucker and her four-piece band were in the middle of winning over an early Bumbershoot crowd. Blending sensitive alt-country ballads with harder country-rock tinged tunes made for the perfect early afternoon welcome. Under concrete-gray skies, Tucker, who could be mistaken for a hipper, younger Neko Case, had the kind of charm and charisma onstage that seasoned performers dream of. On top of that she's got a powerful voice that's as bittersweet as it is silky smooth.
It was refreshing to see such a young band perform with such confidence. The four-piece from Ballard has been getting a lot of love from critics and fans alike. I'm sure we'll be seeing and hearing more of this band in the future.
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Anti-Hit List
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“The list of influences posted online by this Ballard, Wash., band should tell you almost immediatel...“The list of influences posted online by this Ballard, Wash., band should tell you almost immediately if this is up your alley: Mazzy Star, Portishead and Neko Case. If you can triangulate the patch of ground upon which those acts could conceivably camp out together, you'll find this coolly emotional track [Faster than Cars Drive] pretty much impossible to resist.”
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Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden Album Review
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"Her lyrics twine with the emotional pulls of the supporting instruments, and similar to queen of co..."Her lyrics twine with the emotional pulls of the supporting instruments, and similar to queen of coffeehouse folk Beth Orton's, they are poignant allegories for love and loss."
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10 More to Look Out For In 2008
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"Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden capture the alt-pop vibe nicely, with melancholy reverb smoothly..."Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden capture the alt-pop vibe nicely, with melancholy reverb smoothly draping Tucker's yearning vocals."
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Gorgeous and Heartbroken Indie Rock
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"Absolutely gorgeous and heartbroken indie rock focused around Ohio native Kate Tucker's fragile but..."Absolutely gorgeous and heartbroken indie rock focused around Ohio native Kate Tucker's fragile but insistent voice is supported by supple guitar work, strings, and folk and pop influences."
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Crystal Clear Emotional Pop
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"If you're looking for crystal clear, emotional and melodic pop that shines with simplicity and shim..."If you're looking for crystal clear, emotional and melodic pop that shines with simplicity and shimmers with sensuality then check out Kate Tucker and The Sons of Sweden."
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Album Review: Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden
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“There is something pure at heart about the music of Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden on their self ...“There is something pure at heart about the music of Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden on their self titled debut. This is the first collaboration between Kate Tucker & The Swedes, and the result is a record that almost feels like it is gliding on air. Undoubtedly, the unique atmospheric character achieved here is based around Kate Tucker's fine songwriting. Her sweet, but confident vocals, combine with the ethereal guitar strokes of Nic Danielson (who is evidently obsessed with Air & Cocteau Twins, and the influence is profound), to do well in conveying the emotional landscape of this debut which ranges from thoughtful, sad, wanting, and thus forth. Even though there are down moments in terms of mood, the songs almost always have a departing passage that breaks the sadness and lets a little light in, making the record feel like a journey of sorts. An example of this is my favorite song on the album "Faster Than Cars Drive," a mid tempo tune, which is held together with an ominous, slightly western spare guitar riff on the verses, until the stress is broken with a relativley uplifting chorus with talk of cars driving on those endless Montana highways. I also really love the feel of the acoustic stripped down soul searching closer "In The End," which incorporates a tinge of slide guitar, plans to go to California, and all in all, a beauty that is reminscent of Innocence Mission at their finest. Maybe it is all the talk of places on this album, but it unravels as a very nice soundtrack for that long drive when you're lost and hoping to find yourself.”
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Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden Review
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“As soon as Kate Tucker parted her lips to release her rich, dulcet voice I was gathering rope and b...“As soon as Kate Tucker parted her lips to release her rich, dulcet voice I was gathering rope and beeswax to avoid following her to my inevitable destruction (forgive my allusion to the Odyssey; I'm deep into the Rouse translation...). You'd hear no complaints from me if this was the last voice I ever heard. Tucker herself journeyed from her home in Ohio across the country to Seattle and settled in with a couple Swedes and a young man obsessed with the Cocteau Twins. Tucker's folk-influenced picking patterns (I stole that one straight outta the bio) sumptuously melt with her band's ethereal programming and reverberating guitars. The result of their meeting should be ringing brightly in your ears now. If not, get your click on! With the WGA strike entering its second week, the music folks over at Grey's Anatomy will have extra time to discover this siren's songs.”
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Under the Radar
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"When one thinks of female artists in alternative rock, names like Beth Orton, Fiona Apple, Mazzy St..."When one thinks of female artists in alternative rock, names like Beth Orton, Fiona Apple, Mazzy Star and Portishead quickly jump to mind. It isn't a surprise that Kate Tucker cites most of these on her A-list of influences. On her debut EP, Eros
Turannos, Tucker crafts a set of entrancing, melancholy songs layered with ethereal soundscapes, something one might expect from Bjork, if not for the steady rhythm section that Tucker employs. With a voice that mixes elements of Dido and Natalie Merchant, Tucker manages to find her niche on the first try--upbeat but otherwise gloomy, ambient songs. "
supersonic
