Tash Sultana – Flow State

Tri-fold package is well done and orange/yellow swirl is pretty. My copy also sounds quite nice. Good dynamics. A bit of noise floor hiss, but no discernible pops, clicks or other defects. Pressed at GZ.

i have a 2lp with 2 disc ones that i just got from the merch table in st paul, mn.... hoping someone in a similar situation could help....

Colors on the record are beautiful, and the art inside the cover is amazing.

Having read about and followed this artist ever since she released a video of her live-recording of “Welcome to the jungle”, needless to say I was pretty hyped for this album to come out. Sultana does all her stuff by herself. She records drums, vocals and guitars and her various other inputs in her own, magical way. The entire album has a warm glow to it, the way the guitar tone is so crisp, yet rings so saturated in the mix. From the very first strike, this is very much in play. A simple melody accomodates Tash’s soft. and slightly metallic raspy voice. A short introduction to her Flow State is a simple, reggae inspired showoff of what her voice can do. It ranges from a faint whisper to a cry of pain as he hits the high notes, and then switches seamlessly into falsetto when it gets really high. But it’s’ in her groove that she is the most comfortable, like in “Big smoke”. A looped riff, with added instruments as it evolves, forms the backbone of the song. It’s laidback, the singing light, but still grabbing the notes in style. There’s vibrato here, a rasping whisper there, and a scream there, so you won’t be short of vocal styles. There’s also a breakdown which fits the rest of the theme well as an ending. Over the course of the album, we are met with different approaches to the guitar dominated style. I didn’t pay much attention to the lyrics, but there were mentions of substance use, being tired of people’s bullshit, finding yourself, There’s psychedelic passages where the guitar is let loose of its collar, as a contrast to the majority of more downbeat tunes. But it’s never fully let go, leaving more room for the voice. Especially in “Harvest Love” we are shown the vulnerability of Tash as she is humming, breathing and just enjoying a beautiful melody. As a finale, we are treated with the nine and a half minute long “Blackbird”, which was supposedly written while Tash was stuck in a cave when wandering around in New Zealand. It starts as a latino sounding song, instrumental guitar only, and is the only song on the album which doesn’t use a looping technique. Therefore, the pace varies, and there’s several interludes and breakdowns during the song. After a overly virtuous intro, the uptempo theme starts to emerge; a stomping extravaganza of guitar showoff. The notes intermingle, sometimes occuring at the same time, sometimes paces apart. A series of riffs sets the wheels in motion for what is becoming the new face of the song. As she starts to sing, it sounds like an old rock song, one of those that people know and remember by heart. Again, Tash utilizes the full capacity of her voice, which cracks, howls, screams and chants. The song ends with a five minute guitar freestyle picking, which seems a fitting way to end the album. To summarize, this is a truly stunning debut from an indie artist. Tash dares to dog out on a limb to create something rare, strange, and not something everybody would, or could, like.

Mine came with limited edition stickers with an accompanying hype sticker

What a wonderful album, Super quality, the sound is extraordinary.
My top new artist.
Superb Color : Mix of Yellow/Orange, A beautiful Collector.