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TIA CARRERA

Psychedelic/Space Rock • United States


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Tia Carrera picture
Tia Carrera biography
Founded in Austin, USA in 2001

Instrumental, improvisational, heavy metal since 2001. Jason MORALES (guitar) and Erik CONN (drums) started jamming before then out of the ashes of Trance Syndicate band Starfish and various other Austin staple bands such as Migas, Antebellum, Dismukes and the list just goes on. Austin bros simply cutting loose, free-form with no direction other than to rip it up. Originally much more "bluesy" but always "stoney". Without a plan for attack, when the show offers began, the name that was on the CDR of the previous "house jam" had stuck. Not so much a joke as an afterthought, it works well when spelled like correctly, like the Spanish word for "fast or race like" Carrera.

With no regular rehearsal (ever) the new band was offered a Friday evening happy-hour residency and thus began it's legendary status. TIA CARRERA was born blazing continuous sonic sound-scapes, recalling the likes of late era Hendrix, Cream, and Zeppelin yet equally influenced by the Melvins and Sleep.

With their official releases, hand-fulls of give-away home recordings (in the early days), a video (A.C.G.) and close to a thousand performances, the band continues to evolve within its own parameters of guitar, bass, drums. Improvised and instrumental.

The current line-up revisits the first year and 4th release with Jamey SIMMS on bass. Also an accomplished guitar player. Which can be seen/heard switching from bass to guitar mid-jam and/or drone, with regular guitarist Jason MORALES onto bass, while drummer Erik CONN hammers away.

: : : Nikola Savić, SERBIA : : :

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TIA CARRERA discography


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TIA CARRERA top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.00 | 1 ratings
The November Session
2003
3.00 | 2 ratings
Tia Carrera
2006
3.78 | 4 ratings
The Quintessential
2009
3.88 | 6 ratings
Cosmic Priestess
2011

TIA CARRERA Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

TIA CARRERA Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

TIA CARRERA Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

TIA CARRERA Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

0.00 | 0 ratings
Heaven/Hell
2007
0.00 | 0 ratings
You are the War
2008
4.00 | 1 ratings
Visitors / Early Purple
2019

TIA CARRERA Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Visitors / Early Purple by TIA CARRERA album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 2019
4.00 | 1 ratings

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Visitors / Early Purple
Tia Carrera Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by Windhawk
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

— First review of this album —
4 stars US band TIA CARRERA has been a part of the psychedelic rock, fuzz rock and improvisation scene in their homeland ever since 2001, with five full length albums to their name in addition to some singles and EPs. The EP "Visitors / Early Purple" is their most recent production, and was released through US label Small Stone Records in the spring of 2019. This is the first new material to be released by the band since 2011.

If you like your instrumental, improvised hard rock with vintage doom metal undercurrents, enjoy guitar soloing and guitar effects used to produce a vast array of fuzz-laden psychedelic landscapes, and you enjoy experiencing a solid groove accompanying guitar antics as briefly described, Tia Carrera is a band you should check out, and this latest EP of their appears to me to be as good a place to start as anywhere else.

 Tia Carrera by TIA CARRERA album cover Studio Album, 2006
3.00 | 2 ratings

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Tia Carrera
Tia Carrera Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by Eetu Pellonpaa
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars This is the earliest album of this American group blowing out improvised heavy psych jams, and thought there are some good moments, I personally believe the better awesomeness are found more powerfully from the following releases. The opener "Tones, Levels and THC" switches in aggressively, doing muddy stoner wanderings in style reminding a bit The Earthless. On some tracks like "Eastside Jive" there are some extra grooves brought with vintage organs. These bluesy kicks morph to more psyched-out open void in the end pleasantly, finding the eventually ending note from the sweet hazy smoke. Following "Carrera!" focuses mainly to one monotonic riff and rhythm run, which does not in my opinion evolve anywhere very interesting. "Valentine's Blues" is then a Hendrix oriented weeper with pleasant patience for construction of calmer moments. There are also some heavier riffing on the next track "Countdown, Liftoff" has some crashing Hotel Wrecking City Traders. The spacey sounds oscillate between the orbit, and this is one of the best tracks here for me. Left to the heights, "At Altitude" brings more wonderful stoner smashing, continuing the highlight session with a relentless beating. "End Transmission" is then again accompanied with the keyboards, having open beginning, later finding the sludge beats, which lead to conclusion reaching religious heights, cut away abruptly as the album begun.

The song durations are ranging between seven and twelve minutes, and have some really beautiful psychedelic guitar sequences within a honestly open and impulsive atmosphere, escaping to expressionistic art rock territories in a streetwise way. However there are some slightly duller parts included yet on this album; Sometimes is seemed like the trio didn't invent much interesting things in the jams. However, it is a honest choice to show also this side of the actual improvisational capabilities, but also affects to the listening experience. Also some fadeouts suggest the tracks didn't possibly find optimal endings. Nice stuff still certainly, and the following records prove that it was worth to continue on these straits, as the next records are really awesome.

 The Quintessential by TIA CARRERA album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.78 | 4 ratings

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The Quintessential
Tia Carrera Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by Eetu Pellonpaa
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars In the beginning of this record, divine duo guitar drones quietly start announcing the quintessential song cycle by Tia Carrera. The opening mantra leads to massive presence of "The Unnamed Wholeness", first shimmering in a raw electronic wall of sounds, then starting to roll euphorically to vast pacific reaches of psychedelic seas. Sacred vibrations flow powerfully and in convincing manner, players communicating in focused and valid way for the listener's enjoyment. The influence of Jimi Hendrix and Cream is audible in the crying solo parts. The heavy riff manners of stoner rock style are not present very much, allowing the jams evolve to more vintage-oriented directions, yet staying in a heavy rock context. Calmer sequences bring also space and contrasts to this pleasant voyaging in realms of imagination, deepening the hypnotic surge of sound, finding the core source of my fascination for this group. From other tracks, "Gypsies" delivers a shorter wahwah riff-killer, and "New Orleans" starts as a very down tempo bluesy wanderings in dark alleys, later elevating to bit more grandiose heights in in guitar driven spheres. "Hazy Winter" ends the album to folksy moods with acoustic guitar, blurred vocals and uplifted feeling.

There is much improvement to the 2006 record due presence of more interesting tonal elements in the jams. Also the psychedelic qualities are more powerfully implemented to the sound with oriental scales, longer focusing to spontaneous playing, and more sacred feeling in the lengthily rolling spiritual stoner rock tracks. Very fine music, and recommended for anybody interested of raw vintage oriented acid rock.

 Cosmic Priestess by TIA CARRERA album cover Studio Album, 2011
3.88 | 6 ratings

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Cosmic Priestess
Tia Carrera Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by Eetu Pellonpaa
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars The most recent record of this heavy American acid rock group reaches to even further heights in spontaneous psychedelic rock impressionism. "Slave Cylinder" kicks in straightforwardly to the hazy maelstrom. Heavy riff cycles are relieved by faster opening of the rhythm and powerful Cream reminding guitar solos. "Sand, Stone and Pearl" are firstly discovered with more tender observations from shores of misty nocturnal sea. After swimming to the open sea, vibrating tones and marimbas enrich the tonal palette, ensuring pleasant content to relentlessly rolling waves of sound. Fade-out solutions might be seen as minor flaws on this disc, which culminates to the over half-hour long psychic destroyer "Saturn Missile Battery". On this epic stoner wandering I especially liked how the building of rhythm is left mostly to the drums, guitars focusing mostly to melodic territories, and thus escaping the usual riff-oriented sludge metal solutions. This also strengthens the vintage associations, when comparing the album to outputs of many other current psychedelic heavy bands. The album closer is a more relaxed and casual psych-rocker in vein of Jimi Hendrix's "Driving South" rocker.

It has often fascinated me how to get out most of the potential from basic rock trio without singing and conventional pop song's arrangements and compositional elements. This band brings one answer to my searches among with the Earthless, however here with even lesser associations left relating to the post 1970's heavy metal sound manners. So, in my opinion a really beautiful aggressive acid rock band, which evolvement both in quality and stylistically are evidently preserved to their discography, this album from it being my current personal favorite of those which I have heard. I personally felt that the spontaneous psychedelia borne from the dirty streets has elevated to more divine states, like the name and album cover also suggests. I would strongly recommended this to the fans of open heavy psych improvisations, carrying forth the torch lit on the concert stages of Hendrix and Clapton in the late 1960's.

Thanks to AstralliS for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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