Tia McGraff
Album: Break These Chains
Label: Bandana
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.tiamcgraff.com

Candian native Tia Mcgraff's new CD has been a long time coming. I always feel this makes the expectation hard to live up to for the artist but, apparently this is not so for Tia. Break These Chains was released on Bandana records, produced by her husband/co-writer, Tommy Parham. It features twelve new tracks, which feature a more stripped back sound than Tia's previous releases. This really works for her and highlights a real diversity in her vocals.

Standout tracks for me include Reckonin', Conductor for a Day, Safer Place, Come Up Roses (never was a truer word spoken) and the beautiful Abigail, a tribute song she wrote about Abigail Becker, the 19th century heroine of Long Point, near her home in Port Dover. It's a very interesting story which I won't spoil by telling you. I also find the closing song, Whisky Ship, very intriguing and quite unique.

The band perfectly complement Tia's voice and lyrics, which again demonstrate that she has a startling abilty to get to the heart of the matter and speak from the heart, to touch other people's. I am Reckonin' that this CD may well bring the name Tia McGraff to even more people's attention and deservedly so.

Helen Mitchell