Emily Otnes is a daughter of Champaign. Coincidently, her first full length record with her band Tara Terra is titled, Daughter, and at least two songs seem to point to family as their subject. Other themes include relationships, religion, depression, and the joys of simpler times. The music style is mostly pop-rock, but Otnes is capable of much more and you get snippets of her range throughout the album. The work is well produced by Otnes and guitarist Colin Althaus, and was recorded at Earth Analog and Perennial Sound. Additionally, some work was recorded in various members’ living rooms.
A singer-songwriter whose sweet voice and small stature belie the power of her presence, Otnes’s voice rings out strong and clear, well laden with ability and technique. Sounding a bit like a homegrown version of the American Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Patty Griffin, from her debut LP, Living With Ghosts, Otnes weaves her vocals and the accompanying instrumentation into a satisfying shower of sound.
The album opens with Otnes’ full-throated vocals and a bow to guilty pleasures. In “Smoke” she sings about tobacco addiction, one that you imagine Otnes may know about intimately:
Got such a nasty habit
But I’ll be done when the trembling stops and the high stays
Oh I’ll be done when my head stops spinning and my hands don’t shake.
But, there are all types of guilty pleasures, and she references another in the song:
I don’t know why I got you in my bed
I think it’s alright when I’m wasted
You’re keeping me safe,keeping me warm when the
Time’s tick-tickin’ away,
Her lyrics may or may not be autobiographical, but her topics are more than a little familiar to many of us.
The next song, “There is a Reason”, is the first reference to family dynamics:
Oh mother, how did [you] love her
When she’d always wander, wander away?
Oh father, how did you watch her
When you almost lost her, when she went astray?
The song clearly points to rifts in the family circle and you get the idea that the lyrics hide events buried deep within it. After a short lead-in, the song opens with Otnes’ strong vocals. The fine guitar and superb violin work blend well into the mix, and the background vocals are spot on.
The title song also deals with rending of the family fabric, and the loss of affection:
The sun is setting ‘cross the water
Sinking in the ground
to its hiding place
Do you forget you have a daughter
The more the seasons pass
The more time escapes?
The song suggests a parent or a child has gone astray. Was it an argument gone badly, an affair, or other betrayal? The lyrics don’t make it clear, although they do allude to a degree of fighting over something. And there is clearly pain left where the affection should be:
‘Cause I don’t know why
The feelings hardened
I don’t know why
I can’t seem to hold your gaze
I don’t know when
You got so quiet
But it’s too bad
I can’t keep holding your place
and,
I would knock on your door
But you won’t let me
I don’t knock anymore
Oh my hands are heavy
Less you say, the less I’ll wait
The more you stall the more I say
I don’t need you anyway
The song has good production values, good instrumentation and good vocals, but its power lies in its theme.
The next song, “Borrowed”, opens with some fine vocal and guitar work by Otnes, as does Revival, cut number six. The song in between the two, “Don’t Call Me Darlin’”, is a grand production with a very wide range. The song starts with country blues vocals and some solid guitar work by Colin Althaus, and evolves into a pop-rock anthem for women dealing with manipulating malcontents who pose as caring partners:
Don’t call me darlin, I
Won’t be coming around tonight
I know your kindness comes with second intentions
Some cannot see through you — let me do you a solid
And point you the other way
Baby, don’t call me darlin today
The sadness of being bound in a bad relationship switches to righteous joy when she finally kicks the bum to the curb, and you feel it in the song.
“Shades of Blue”, track seven, centers on the frustration of trying to help a lover through depression, but with no clue as to how:
What am I to do
Watching you fade into shades of blue
What am I to do? Tell me darlin’,
What am I to you?
Here, a pleading for the lover to “keep it together”,
Oh my love don’t you fall apart
Anymore than you already are
…and a statement of fact:
Cause I can’t mend you or set you free
“Bare Feet”, is my least favorite song on the album. It talks of a simpler time in the singer’s life, without the worries associated with full adulthood. While the initial musicianship and vocals are good, the song breaks into a wall of sound featuring wailing guitars, overused electronics, overdone keyboards, simple, repetitive vocals and a dose of feedback to boot. It feels like walking on shards of glass, not something that bare feet should be associated with.
The final song showcases the very best this band has to offer. “The Way Back”, a song about relationships, puts the spotlight on the players, all of them: Joey Buttlar on percussion, Colin Althaus and Nick Soria on guitar and bass, Alleya Weibel on violin, Weibel Celine Broussard and Otnes on exquisite vocals. A wonderful finale to a very strong inaugural release.
I first heard Emily Otnes at the celebration of Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday, a well-attended event at Mike ‘N Molly’s in the summer of 2012. After her set I could see the heads turn and eyes widen; we had all just witnessed something nice and unexpected. I won’t say that Daughter is unexpected, but I need to come up with something better than “nice”. I think “wonderful” works nicely.
Check out Tara Terra tomorrow night at Mike ‘N Molly’s with Plains and Alex & The XOs.