Tara Blaise

A review of her album 'Dancing on Tables Barefoot'

Review Snapshot:
Tara Blaise, the latest in a deluge of singer-songwriters to emerge from Ireland, seems to have everything going for her. Dancing on Tables Barefoot is Blaise's first solo offering, and it has everything that the launch-pad album of a young, female, radio-friendly singer should have: witty lyrics, a perfectly controlled, melodic voice, and catchy choruses. Whilst some songs seem a little flat and emotionless, previous single 'Paperback Clich? and the gritty 'Later' more than make up for it.

The CLUAS Verdict? 7 out of 10.

Full review:

Tara Blaise, the latest offering from the deluge of singer-songwriters to emerge from Ireland, seems to have everything going for her. She shares the same manager as those other mega-successful Irish exports, The Corrs (24 million album sales to date), she has been touted to death by BBC Radio 2, and her songs are sufficiently mainstream yet alternative enough to appeal to a fairly varied audience. She's also drop-dead gorgeous (which always helps) and her songs aren't half bad. In fact, her songs are really rather good.

Dancing on Tables Barefoot is Blaise's first solo offering, and it has everything that the launch-pad album of a young, female, radio-friendly singer should have: witty lyrics, a perfectly controlled, melodic voice, and catchy choruses. All of this is brought to us through Blaise's light-hearted folk-pop style.

Not all the songs are good. 'Fool for Love' is just a bit too moany and 'Feel Free' doesn't really contain anything to get excited or emotional about. However, most songs prove how worthy Blaise is of any good fortune that comes to her. 'Paperback Clich? (which was released in the UK in May and contains possibly the most brilliant chorus ever) and the gritty and punchy 'Later' are just two examples.

Despite her obvious merits, good publicity, and competent manager, major success seems to have evaded this particular Irish artiste as yet: 'Paperback Clich? didn't really achieve significant airplay and the album has only just been distributed to major record stores, having previously been confined to a smattering of independent shops. It took The Corrs seven years to break the UK. Let's hope that Tara Blaise doesn't have to wait this long.

Michelle Slade

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To buy a new or (very reasonably priced) second hand copy of this album on Amazon just click here.