Peregrine is
Tara Jane O'Neil's first solo record after spending years in such ultra-indie groups as
Rodan,
Retsin, and
the Sonora Pine. Here
O'Neil shows a much more intimate portrait of herself than you probably picked up in the road of
Rodan. The experimental quiescence of sonorous slow pop project
the Sonora Pine is a better starting point.
Peregrine is melancholy and moving, beautifully lonely. This is the best sorrowful songwriting since Damon & Naomi's
Playback Singers. To do this album,
O'Neil holed up with a guitar, bass, piano, thumb piano, balalaika -- and some blues. First, she crafted her emotions into songs and played all the instruments. Then she added the studio guitarist Dan Littleton (
Ida), noted jazz drummer Andrew Barker, and violinist
Samara Lubelski (
the Sonora Pine,
Hall of Fame). Together they put just enough instrumentation on these sparse songs to keep the emotion from being completely naked. ~ Tom Schulte