October 7-13, 2004

musicpicks

TJO

Photo By: Kristina davies

Rock/pop

When TJO, aka Tara Jane O'Neil, started releasing solo records in 2000, the new work sounded like a decisive break from her past projects. O'Neil was already well-known for her work in conventional ensembles like rock bands (Rodan) and acoustic folk duos (Retsin), but her first two self-recorded albums were atmospheric experiments in texture and arrangement. As she expanded her instrumental palette and stretched her boundaries as an arranger and engineer, her music became impressionistic, nonlinear. Her third solo record, You Sound, Reflect (Quarterstick), was released this year and changed the game again. On it, the recent experimentation unites with the older songwriting sensibilities, and the results are stellar. When TJO played with her backing band, Gold, at the Homo-A-Gogo festival in Olympia this summer, it became clear that the new material—rich, earthy songs that meld country and folk with mellow psychedelia—is the best music of her career.

Tue., Oct. 12, 7 p.m., $8-$10, with Butchies, Mirah and Cara Hyde, First Unitarian Church, 22nd and Chestnut sts., 800-594-TIXX.

—Sara Marcus