Album Review: Tash Sultana, Terra Firma

The endlessly cool Tash Sultana has returned with the follow-up to 2018’s genre-defying Flow State. With the ability to play over 18 instruments – not to mention production credits on every track – Sultana is the ultimate DIY performer.

The compelling Terra Firma cracks open the layers of the 25-year-old’s psyche and fearlessly explores the vulnerabilities beneath. While featuring their usual hypnotic guitar riffs and intoxicating grooves on smoky tracks ‘Musk’, ‘Coma’, and ‘Pretty Lady’, Sultana also showcases gorgeously ethereal vocals on ‘Maybe You’ve Changed’.

‘Crop Circles’ asks difficult questions about life and death and ‘Greed’ ruminates on the corrupting power of fame and wealth. Elsewhere, standout track ‘Beyond The Pine’ offers a jolt of blunt honesty, particularly the line, “I need you to save me, because I can’t save myself”.

Terra Firma lives up to the potential glimpsed on the dynamic busker’s debut album, with a new-found sense of maturity apparent. It imaginatively incorporates an array of diverse styles, resulting in a kaleidoscope of feel-good vibes.