Quarter Stick
2006
In Circles
About This Album
Amid the hoopla surrounding strong 2006 releases from female musicians like Neko Case, Chan Marshall, Isobel Campbell, Ane Brun, Jolie Holland, and Beth Orton, the most affecting of the bunch may just be Tara Jane O'Neil's In Circles. Recorded in empty wooden houses around her current hometown of Portland, OR, In Circles' songs seem to arise out of the forest, rivers, sea, and dramatic vistas of the Pacific Northwest as though part of the aural and scenic landscape. O'Neil mostly eschews the twangy accents and full-band sound of 2004's You Sound, Reflect here, resulting in airier, less dense, and more delicate arrangements. She instead focuses her accomplished guitar playing on overlapping lines that chime like the clear, ringing tones Tom Verlaine pulls from his instrument. Accents like flute, melodica, and hushed percussion add to the ethereal nature of the music, but that doesn't make the record any less substantial. Where You Sound, Reflect seemed to bemoan the frail state of human relations, In Circles seeks balance back in natural surroundings, as imagery from the five elements -- Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water -- color O'Neil's lyrics at almost every turn.
Track List (try tracks 1,7,8 and 9)

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