Album Review: Tash Sultana - Terra Firma

Terra Firma, meaning solid ground, is the long-awaited second album from Australian multitalented Tash Sultana. The title reflects a need to slow down and be grounded; a theme that feels particularly relevant and timely. 

The follow up to Flow State kicks off with instrumental Musk, a reminder of that signature Tash Sultana sound - layers of building, glimmering guitar lines, smooth keys, grooving bass and rich trumpet. What you won't hear as much of on Terra Firma though is the looping/jam session structure of songs like Jungle, which helped catapult Sultana to prominence back in 2017. Since then, with the help of a loop pedal rig, the multi-instrumentalist has played some huge stages as a one-person band, but the songs on this new record look to lend themselves nicely to the full backing band setting their live shows will be moving towards.

Terra Firma is also more of a collaborative effort than their first album, with features from fellow Melbournians - rising artist Jerome Farah on Willow Tree and emerging folk singer Josh Cashman on Dream My Life Away. Sultana also worked closely with Matt Corby on stand-out singles Pretty Lady, Beyond The Pine and Greed, with the pair being an obvious musical match.

Terra Firma is a display of Tash Sultana's musical range, production and lyrical ability, and a refinement of all the things we love about their music.