Thalia Zedek

Thalia Zedek started her career as a musician in the group Dangerous Birds, whose 1982 single "Alpha Romeo" is a rare find these days. She really made her mark shortly thereafter with Uzi, whose 1986 Homestead release Sleep Asylum was a landmark not only for the Boston region but for the underground in general. It rightfully put Thalia in the company of other challenging female pioneers such as Kim Gordon, and was reissued by Matador in the mid-1990's to much acclaim. In 1998, a mere two years after Uzi, Thalia broke new ground again with the NYC band Live Skull. The three records that she released with them more than stand the test of time and laid the groundwork for artists who followed such as PJ Harvey. It was with Come that Thalia rose with the swell of popularity of so called Indie Rock. Fueled by the guitar interplay between herself and bandmate Chris Brokaw, Come released four full length records as well as various EP's and singles and toured extensively throughout the 90s. After Come ended in 1999, Thalia began writing and recording under her own name, but throughout her career Thalia's voice has remained a singular calling card. Her songwriting has great depth and a pervading melancholic tone much like the work of Nick Cave. She has chosen unusual instrumentation to compliment her guitar, such as the viola and trumpet contributions of David Curry. Her songs are rich in texture and reveal with each listen their delicately crafted layers. Her debut album for Thrill Jockey, 2004's Trust Not Those in Whom Without Some Touch of Madness, garnered great critical acclaim, and the Adelaide performance on her Australian tour for that album even earned a spot on The Wire magazine's top 60 Greatest Shows Ever. For the new album, Liars and Prayers, Thalia has expanded upon her touring band of the last few years of Daniel Coughlin (drums) and David Curry (viola, trumpet) to fill out the sound with the bass and piano of Winston Braman (Consonant, Sherperdess, Fuzzy) and Mel Lederman (Victory at Sea). Liars and Prayers is the masterwork of her thus far impressive career. Her voice and songs have never been stronger and the full band and the recording by Andrew Schneider (Unsane, Cave In) allow her to combine the delicacy of the arrangements of her trio with the force that was her band Come. The very moving "Body Memory" is a poignant example of this perfect synthesis.

Links
http://www.myspace.com/thaliazedek