Tara Blaise has been waiting a long time for her time in the spotlight, hanging around for years with such Irish indie stalwarts as Kaydee and the Wilde Oscars. Her first solo album is made up of much more mainstream fare, but it's none the worse for that. Dancing On Tables Barefoot is light, breezy, radio-friendly folk-pop with lyrics that contain just enough intelligence and bite to prevent the whole package from sliding into blandness. At times, in fact, she sounds remarkably like the young Kate Bush, with vocal whoops and catches that neatly convey her independent spirit. But while Blaise is clearly a bohemian at heart, her songwriting never loses sight of such good old-fashioned values as a catchy chorus. Looks like her moment has well and truly arrived.
