Album Review: Tara Simmons - It’s Not Like We’re Trying To Move Mountains

Four years after the release of her debut album, Spilt Milk (2009), Brisbane-based pop artist Tara Simmons returns with her sophomore LP, It's Not Like We're Trying To Move Mountains. A collaboration with producer Yanto Browning has seen her loosen the creative reigns this time around, resulting in a sound that's heavier on the synths and lighter on the strings than her first release.

The focus on studio effects on both her vocals and the music is immediately evident in opening track Weekend Hearts. An electro-synth line starts proceedings, while her vocals gradually build over the first verse, with echoing effects applied to create a smooth, dream-pop feel. It's so polished that it actually becomes a little lack-lustre, with the over-refinement preventing the song from resonating with the listener. This approach carries into successive tracks Where Do You Go, Gone In The Night and Be Gone, the latter of which contains a rhythmic synthetic line that obtrusively sticks out over the vocals, percussion and bass line – which could be considered the better elements of the song. Following track, Honey, is comparatively stripped back, and allows Simmons' haunting vocals to take the spotlight, to great effect, carrying more emotion and significance than previous songs. A similar rapport is found in No Sleep Tonight, which highlights a delicate flitter of keys and horns throughout, with minimal studio enhancements.

By no means should these minor disparagements be read as a criticism of embarking in a new musical direction, it's just that that the synth-pop style found throughout It's Not Like We're Trying To Move Mountains could be more effective if handled with additional subtlety.