Irish multi-talent Tara Lee recently debuted with “Boyz” a thorny pop song about an intoxicating, fascination with the wrong kind men. The bewitching track was enough to give us a tantalising first taste of what her music is about. With the promise of taking the themes and darkly cinematic approach to pop up several gears on subsequent releases. The excitement continued to crackle with a buzz when it was revealed Tara has been writing with Swedish pop producer Jonas Quant (Hurts, Kylie Minogue), Blair MacKichan (Paloma Faith, Sia) and Justin Broad. She backs up her debut with the track “Drive” co-written by Tara with Hurts and Kylie Minogue’s producer Jonas Quant in Gothenburg, Sweden. Which came about after the singer managed to convince the producer over Twitter to collaborate with her.
Working with Jonas has also brought an electronic element into play on Tara’s latest widescreen pop release. Although, when watching the music video we could at first suspect this is a track made in homage to the Nicolas Winding Refn movie “Drive.” Let’s scotch these rumours, it isn’t. The video was directed by Tara herself, and it was inspired by a graphic scene in another arthouse horror film, Adam Wingard’s, “The Guest”. Nevertheless, I feel there is some crossover vibe between the two films, visible in the haunting mix of overall thrill-seeking spirit.
The song really does seem more suited as a feature on a soundtrack than it does being highlighted as a pop song, which it isn’t in the ordinary sense of the word. The underlying groove is poignantly dark, flashes of dazzling neon brilliance breakthrough with a futuristic allure. It is slick, with a notable sense of adventure, charting new musical ground in the pursuit of something unique and lasting. The cinematic hues of sound invite listeners in, enticing them with the dark and mysterious. Was it ever in doubt, All Hallows Eve, Halloween, would be a good time to release this?
What of Tara Lee? She has lived up to expectations. In fact, she has already gone beyond them. A strong future in music feels assured.
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