Photo credit: Graham Washatka
Tae’s album release party will be held at Between Two Galleries, 423 W. Pierce St., on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, at 7:30 p.m.
After listening to What Love Is, the debut album from Milwaukee-based singer/songwriter Tae, it’s hard to believe that the talented performer is all of 21 years old. The album, which draws from the worlds of folk, pop, soul and R&B, sounds like the product of a musician who has spent years on the road honing their craft. It is a confident statement by a performer who has found their voice and is an album that hints at even bigger things to come.
While What Love Is features a myriad of musicians, it is the vocals of Tae that remain front and center throughout the album’s 10 tracks. Citing such influences as Sam Cooke, Amy Winehouse, Rachael Price (of the band Lake Street Dive) and Brandi Carlile, Tae sings in a way that draws from such legends while simultaneously sounding fresh. Much of the appeal of Tae’s vocals is that they never sound rushed; songs unfold at a pace that allows the listener to comfortably settle in and really listen. Such a feeling may be a result of Tae’s songwriting process, as it took close to two years for the performer to finish composing the songs that made their way on to the album.
It is also clear that Tae spent a great deal of time considering the lyrical themes present on the album. “All of these songs,” she notes, “highlight perspectives of self-love, love received and love given.” While this may sound rather romantic, What Love Is leads Tae to explore some pretty dark places. Album standout “Used Me Up,” for example, finds the performer coming to terms with an abusive relationship. “You wished for me to die,” Tae sings, “But then you begged for me to stay / I caught you digging my grave.” For Tae, such lyrical openness is intentional, as she hopes that such vulnerability “will create conversation [and] hopefully allow them to be vulnerable as well, so we can all learn from each other and elevate each other’s lives.”
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Despite such heady subject matter, What Love Is also finds strength in our ability to love and to expand upon the meaning of that very concept. On the album’s title track, Tae asks “Have I been misled by the word?,” only to then admit, “Though, I’m losing my concern / As this feeling’s being felt / Who are you to tell / What love is?” Noting that the song is meant to suggest that love is bigger than politics and other day-to-day matters, Tae explains that “I have really been focusing lyrically on writing with the feeling of empowerment, conversation and acknowledgement.” With such words in mind, What Love Is emerges as a triumphant record, one that finds hope in listening to those, like domestic abuse survivors, often pushed to the margins of American culture.
Tae’s ability to document such experiences—and to sing about them in such a beautiful way—suggests that What Love Is may be only the beginning of what promises to be a long and fruitful career. “When I find something that I strongly feel needs to be brought to attention,” Tae concludes, “I try to bring that and inspire some kind of social change, consciousness and awareness.” As 2020 begins, such an approach to the arts is needed more than ever.
Tae’s album release party will be held at Between Two Galleries, 423 W. Pierce St., on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 7:30 p.m.
