There's something special about an album that takes a listener on a journey to a place they've never been before. Every album can be a journey if the listener is open to it, but not every album really takes us somewhere. There's something special about going along for the ride when we realize the music is going to carry us to a place we've never been. Pop music can be great and there's a place for it, but it just can't compare to the lifting that comes from feeling your mind transported by the music.
Tuatara's music not only transports listeners and carries them on a journey, it takes them to exotic and mythical places. On the early, instrumental records it was up to the listener to tell the story of that journey. For The Here & The Gone, Tuatara has enlisted poet Coleman Barks to give voice and word to those explorations.
Who is Coleman Barks and what is he doing fronting a band that features members of two of rock's enduring bands?
Athens, Georgia is famous for two things: the University of Georgia and R.E.M. Barks was a professor at the former, Tuatara member Peter Buck is, of course, a member of the latter. One night in Athens in 1997, Tuatara was joined onstage by Barks. He began performing a reading of his poetry and the band composed a soundtrack to it spontaneously, on the spot. Ten years later, Barks made guest appearances on Tuatara's twin releases East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Now those collaborations have taken another step in their journey, recording an entire album of music and poetry. More than 25 compositions were recorded, 16 of them presented on The Here & The Gone.
Even though I'd enjoyed the previous collaboration between them, I wasn't sure what to expect with THATG nor was I sure such a collaboration could sustain my interest over the course of the album. With that in the back of my mind I began listening and immediately felt the amazing lifting begin. The first lines of the first song, "A Grainy Taste," are an invitation and a travel itinerary.
Without a net I catch a falcon and release it to the air, hunting God
This wine I drink today was never held in a clay jar
I love this world
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