CD Review: Retribution by Tanya Tagaq

Retribution
Tanya Tagaq
Six Shooter Records
Score: A-

The acclaim stemming from Inuk throat-singer Tanya Tagaq’s latest album Retribution is nothing if not well-deserved.

Blending guttural vocals that flit to burgeoning falsettos over 10 tracks (including a cover of the Nirvana staple “Rape Me”), Tagaq portrays visceral (and highly politicized) emotion in a contemporary album that is unlike anything you’ve ever heard.

The key to Tagaq’s success stems from how she manages to blend in traditional throat-work with quasi-hip-hop inflections, creating an album that is both deeply historical but utterly relevant.

In short, Retribution plays like a hyper-politicized version of your favourite Björk album, and listeners are all the better for it.

Alec Warkentin