Tia Carrera

Tia Carrera - The Quintessential
Review by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com)
Small Stone Records
Release date: 2009


Shortly before going on a signing spree that involved the majority of New England's hard rock bands, Small Stone Records snatched up Austin, Texas' Tia Carrera. It was a savvy decision for a multitude of reasons – one being that the group's garnered some mainstream recognition (Rolling Stone took a brief moment gushing over the latest tween sensation to praise the band), which should mean positive things for both Tia Carrera and Small Stone – but the biggest one would be that they're just a damn good act.

Over the course of a handful of EPs, live recordings, and full-lengths, their method has been as simple as it gets - plug in and play, figuring it out as they go along – and yet what's delivered is on a higher level, one that most bands that practice morning, noon, and night can't come close to replicating. The Quintessential continues that tradition of impassioned, impromptu instrumentals.

The album boasts of two lengthy, epic-like jams (“The Unnamed Wholeness” and “New Orleans”), with shorter, more restrained compositions in between (opener “Home,” which is mostly a lesson in ambiance and “Gypsies,” a Hendrix-loving interlude), and with what I believe is a first – a song with vocals (“Hazy Winter”) - at the end. There's not much else to say about “Home” and “Gypsies,” but I could certainly go on and on about the two 15-plus minute tracks. Both take a seed of an idea from classic rock and let them grow wild, spiraling upwards as the bass, guitar, and drums take turns taking the lead. The shifts are subtle, more often than not adding more color. Like their brethren in Earthless and Delicious, Tia Carrera knows when a riffs been played out and, more importantly, know how to change directions without making it seem forced.

And like Earthless, Tia Carrera could add more vocals to their songs and not be worse off for it. Guitarist Jason Morales does an admirable job crooning on the wistful, acoustic “Hazy Winter.” All in all, The Quintessential's bound to be well received by both those who already know of the band and those just discovering them.

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