Nightmare on Queen Street

Tamara Williamson
Independent

Review by Darren Kerr

I haven't been this affected by the overall sound of a recording since This Mortal Coil's Blood took me to elevations high above the stratosphere. Tamara Williamson is the main maiden of Toronto band Mrs. Torrance, and Nightmare on Queen Street is her first solo effort. Four of Canada's finest producers -- Michael Phillip Wojewoda, Ken Myhr, Peter Moore and Kurt Swinghammer -- mixed the songs on this album, and you can bet they were over the rainbow about it. Such is the scope of the glistening work.

Like a beauty queen wearing cyanide lip gloss, these compelling songs are both beautiful and malicious, and Williamson's strong, haunting voice and astonishing range suit them perfectly. "Stephanie" is such a celestial song that you don't at first realize that it is a gripping account of abortion. "Get an Ulcer" is from some brilliantly staccato plane of existence, with its snippets of overdriven guitar and cunning lyrics ("the daughter, the diet, the frightened fat parent / just a little speed / that will keep you busy").

Someday this album will be revered as a milestone for Canadian music.

Artist Contact Info: Box 81, 689 Queen St. West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6J 1E6, ladyblue@interlog.com

First published in Drop-D Magazine on March 21, 1998

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