One symptom of addition deficit disorder, commonly abbreviated to ADHD, is excessive impulsiveness. In day-to-day life this can be an exhausting characteristic for the sufferer, as well as those around them. However, musically it can be turned into a creative advantage. Peckham-born Bengali heritage Tara Lily uses the impulsive aspect of her ADHD to express thoughts that others might mentally lockup and to freely explore the triangle of her music interests (spiritual jazz, electronica from London and mediative Indian music are fused together to create something rather therapeutic). ADHD sufferers seek excitement and this curiosity gives listeners a debut album that goes in some interesting detours.
Lyrically, we go down some dark avenues on 10-track Speak In The Dark. ‘No Way Out’ narrates about psychological suffocation within the music industry. It’s both effectively evocative and ambiguous. While the lines: “You read my mind. Secrets and crimes,” can be overall criticism of an any entertainment scene, Tara Lily is more descriptive when narrating: “Pull up outside, don’t make a scene. Driving high and acting mean.”
The London-born artist has a fascination with the blue-skinned Hindu goddess Kali. Among other things, Kali represents death. This is subject that Lily mentions on ‘Double Time’ – which has a music video that features a motorbike rider wearing a Kali mask – and showcases her rebellious hedonistic attitude. Due this part of her ADHD behaviour she was expelled from school and kicked out of BRIT school. “I’m not afraid to die / Come undercover and I won’t do what I’m told / Reckless nights by the side of the road. Try and fight me I will lose control,” sound both like the musician is expressing another one of Kali’s associations – female empowerment – but also a battle against a kidnapper. Death is also examined on the frisson-inducing ‘Untold’. Tara Lily imagines life after death with lines such as: “Looking back behind me to all that came before me, thinking about who loved me / My tears tremble when I think of you. There’s no going back to the road that was meant for you / The moon comes out to say goodbye / ”. Furthermore, it’s a nod to Rezső Seress’ notorious suicide song ‘Gloomy Sunday’. Lily’s singing tone, the hazy effect over her voice that makes it sound like it’s a discovery from a dusty old gramophone but also most importantly she borrows the line: “Death is no dream, for in death I am caressing you.”
Musically, with the help of producer Dom Valentino (Greentea Peng, Skepta), American jazz trumpeter Theo Croker and saxophonist Jazz Lee, Speak In The Dark hears Tara Lily’s effortless yet emotional voice guide us through an alluring nightscape. Drums that alternate between trip-hop and D&B that recall the energy of Nia Archives and to some extent Katy B’s On A Mission (‘Double Time,’ ‘Breathe Now’), sophisticated chillout jazz that you might hear in high class bars and immediately wish to Shazam and the presence of tanpura providing a mediative buzzing Indian drone. The latter being most effective on ‘Like The Ocean’ because it is accompanied by Bengali-language poetry from Surya Sen, as well as on opener ‘Drone Speakers In The Dark’, which guides listeners into Speak In The Dark with ancient chanting and feet repeatedly being stamped on the floor. Another ode to Tara Lily’s Bengali heritage is ‘South Bombay’. About nightlife instead of rituals, it’s a good example of the album’s playfulness with echoes and has the appreciation of nightfall hedonism that can be heard in Kelela’s ‘Contact.’
The only downside of Speak In The Dark is short length of the tracks. Tara Lily’s voice and music circling around has the potential to absorb listeners for hours; highlighted by the power of final 6 minute plus track Untold. Five tracks on the album fail to hit three minutes. However it makes sense when knowing that an element of ADHD is to move onto the next task quickly and this keeps things constantly interesting. To put in the way that Tara Lily does on the John Coltrane cover ‘Naima’. “Exotic rich and rare, none other to compare.”
