Eight years ago, a snappy and infectious tune called Chevrolet Way generated enough spins across Canada to earn a Juno nomination for one of Calgary's favorite sons. Though Tariq didn't take home the hardware in the best new rock/alternative category, he couldn't complain about the jump his profile took nationwide thanks to the onslaught of publicity that went hand-in-hand with a major record deal.
While his association with EMI Canada didn't have the legs many of us thought it would, the experience confirmed there was a sizeable audience for his music and definitely gained respect from peers on both sides of the border. His talents impressed highly regarded songwriting luminaries like Jules Shear and pop music starlet Charlotte Caffey of the Go-G0's.
His followup album, While You're Down There, included co-writes with both those American artists as well as material penned with his Calgary pal Russell Broom, from Jann Arden's band.
"My new album is a bit removed from where I was going at that time, isn't it?" says the songwriter just a couple of weeks following the release of his latest recording, Goodbye Lonely.
No loops and production tricks frame or drive this batch of songs. Instead Tariq has opted for a more organic and stripped down sound that cleverly marries his pop sensibilities with a roots undertow.
"In a roundabout way, following a road trip that took me to Austin and then Tennessee in 2004, I was introduced to Neilson Hubbard, who is a producer based in Nashville. He's also a multi-instrumentalist and gifted singer who likes to work in a low-key manner from his backyard studio. His producing credits include albums for Garrison Starr and Matthew Ryan," Tariq says of the man who helped him make a disc that he figures "feels much more like me."
It's difficult to disagree with that assessment, as Tariq's musical anecdotes, many of them emotionally charged, are out front in the mix rather than fighting for space with the layered sound that was at the core of his previous release.
Not that Hubbard didn't pick his spots, embellishing Tariq's tunes with strings, percussion, keys and pedal steel guitar. But it was done with affectionate restraint.
"I really like the psychedelic warble he put on 'Shoot To Kill', and he added some much-needed punch to the start of Unwelcome Guest, which kicks off the album," says Tariq who enjoyed the pace of the sessions.
"Neilson's friends would just roll in when they were needed and get into what we were doing."
Tariq appears at the Sidetrack Cafe tonight with some of his Calgary friends. They will perform two sets of Tariq originals after his friend Paul Bellows kicks off the night with a set that begins at 9. The cover charge is $8.
Peter North
Edmonton Journal
July, 2005