On the Radar: Tasha-Yar
An offshoot with four ex-members of the much-hyped North Carolinian outfit U.S. Christmas, Tasha-Yar (named for a character on Star Trek: The Next Generation) provide psychedelic ramble à la Lamp of the Universe‘s most active moments while at the same time reveling in the mellow vibes they manufacture. The six-piece played their first show at the end of April and have four tracks — one live, one improv — posted on their MySpace for listening now, which you’ll probably want to check out if you’re a fan of music that comes with its own peppermint swirls.
Spread over nearly nine minutes, “Formation of Being” does in fact have a structure, which builds the song gradually over time before bringing it back down again. Drummer Tim Greene stays more laid back on “Improv I: Time Within Motion,” letting the guitars ring out into cavernous sonic expanses. Vocals show up on the live track, “Flight of the Scanner,” which is shorter and more active in the modern Tee Pee Records sense, sounding like a more tripped-out Nebula, Naam or Ancestors. All of it very psychedelic, very mood-driven, very atmospheric in a natural kind of way.
As a matter of sheer preference and present mood, I’ll take the 6:45 planetary caravan ride of “Twisted Sage” over the jumpier sounds, the tracks seeming to draw the line between the two otherwise disparate sides of the band with John Presnell‘s bass warm and high in the mix, as it should be. With the double-guitar/synth work of Ben Teeter and Chad Davis (who also contributes vocals, though Joe Sample has lead on “Twisted Sage”) and the additional synths of Tom Devlin III, Tasha-Yar have ample room for the occasional freakout but never seem to lose sight of the spaces they’ve created. I don’t know what their plans are for more recordings (they do have a couple shows coming up), but their pedigree and their willingness to explore distant reaches makes them worth keeping on the radar.
Tags: North Carolina, Tasha-Yar, Unsigned bands
Rule!
hey man…. thanks for the sweet write up on the page… thats most awesome of you…. i just wanted to give a shout back…. i was wanting to tell you on twisted sage Joe Sample is singing… he’s one of our friends from around here…. i noticed it said chad was singing and was going to ask for a retouch,,….i just thought i’d throw that out there so when joe sees it he smiles….
thanks again for the kind words man….
Ben
Hard to keep track with all the various projects around these musicians. They’re all pretty freakin ace. Start here. Absorb this entity, but watch the horizon. Might bump into some other vessels along the way.