Although Tash Sultana has enjoyed a prosperous career thus far, she wants her critics to know that she’s capable of much more than looping guitar riffs over four chords.
After releasing a flurry of singles over the past year, including Triple J’s Hottest 100 hits ‘Murder to the Mind’ and ‘Mystik’, Melbourne-based musician Tash Sultana has dropped her much-anticipated debut record.
She posted to Facebook recently, claiming “I hate being defined by ‘Jungle’… I got put in a box with one song that happened to do well,” and that sentiment certainly comes through on Flow State. The record features a diverse variety of musical styles, blending indie pop, psychedelic rock, reggae and contemporary R&B soul. She has, on the most part, scrapped the pedalling that was so prevalent on her Notion EP and famous MGMT Like a Version cover, instead opting to delve deeper into her singer-songwriter capabilities.
‘Salvation’ – undeniably the album’s strongest track – maintains a soothing groove through synth-dominated swung rhythms. The multi-layered instrumentation creates a dense, yet chilled beach setting, while Sultana calmly rattles off lyrics in a rap-like fashion. Sultana has a knack for cultivating these serene atmospheres and tranquil environments. For this reason, instrumental track ‘Seven’ is another highlight; a drug-like, psychedelic state is created, except unlike every other track on the album, without the assistance of her guitar.
It’s widely publicised that Sultana can play over 20 instruments, but as the multi-instrumentalist explains, she’s a ‘jack of all trades’, but a ‘master of one’ – her guitar. While she may have the capability to play woodwind and brass, the guitar is the primary instrumentation for most tracks. The record features a smorgasbord of impressive, majestic guitar solos, most striking of which is in ‘Pink Moon’.
Flow State also provides the Melbourne-based performer with an opportunity to prove her singing capabilities, and no track exemplifies this better than ‘Harvest Love’. Simultaneously heartbreaking and beautiful, her soaring, passionate vocals dominate the song’s second half, lyrics delineating the anguish and torment of faltering love.
There’s an ongoing sense of seclusion and familiarity throughout this album; Sultana has admitted many tracks were taped in her living room. The ten-minute track ‘Blackbird’ feels like a casual, improvised recording session on the guitar in her bedroom. It’s very personal and intimate, as I’m sure Sultana intended.
Flow State is a strong debut from the 23-year-old; it has undeniably pushed her out of the ‘Australian festival-specialist’ and ‘Youtube-only stardom’ categories she wants to escape. However, one can’t help but feel it’s difficult to confine Sultana’s powerful stage presence onto an album. The gritty passion and fierce energy she brings to her music can only be seen in person. To truly experience the ‘Flow State’ she has advertised, you need to witness her live show.
