Aaron Lee Tasjan Stellar Evolution Blue Élan Records AaronLeeTasjan.com
As influenced by Big Star, Tom Petty, and the Velvet Underground as by any trad. country artist, Tasjan has flirted with mainstream Americana success while retaining every element of individuality marking his progress across more than a decade of recording and genre experimentation. What Tasjan Tasjan Tasjan (2021) hinted toward is fully realized across the forty-one minutes of Stellar Evolution.
With Elton John among his fan base, and having toured with the New York Dolls and Drivin’ N’ Cryin’s Kevin Kinney, Tasjan remains the guy who can sing “Dublin Blues” like he lived it, while embracing sounds and visions that can only emanate from a creative soul. Stellar Evolution is incredible, a mix of personal and universal lyrical truths combined with fresh, danceable and synth-driven instrumentation seldom encountered even at the farthest edges of any rootsicana big tent.
On almost every song, Tasjan boldly and clearly stands to confront those whose every action is to hate and hurt members of the 2SLGBTQ+ communities. Sonically his previous “Up All Night” compare to “Alien Space Queen,” the album’s exciting, exuberant lead track:
“She drives an old Trans Am in sunset gold,
Yeah, she’s transfemme, a demigirl dream.”
Tasjan’s ‘county’ is that of Yola, Kacey Musgraves, and all the others breaking down the staid status quo. The quality of his songwriting structures is apparent, especially on the closing “Young” where Tasjan examines a quest for love, compassion, and acceptance across the entirety of his 37 years.
Through his recording career, Tasjan has continually elevated his songwriting and while one hopes he hasn’t peaked with Stellar Evolution, one is challenged to imagine stronger, more personal images finding their way into future songs. “Horror of it All,” where Tasjan explores his own challenging adolescence (“I’ve got to be myself now…”), and “The Drugs Did Me” (“Woke up face down in the rug, passed out into your hot tub…”) a light-sounding, honest capsule of a life spinning out of control, are but two examples of Tasjan sharing the darkness of his experiences.
“Nightmare” expresses worries of becoming a hate crime statistic (“I want all my friends to know I love ‘em, just in case I should disappear”) with the optimistic “Bird,” “Roll Your Windows Down” and “Cry Till You’re Laughing” balancing fears; the latter song includes shades of The Beatles, as does “Ocean Drive.” “Dylan Shades” again find Tasjan searching to understand his life and his emotions.
“I love America better than you,
Her dirty water and her hot dogs, too.
Purple mountain tops, jazz and soda pop,
I love America better than you”
begins the scathing “I Love America Better Than You.” When fear and nationalism become dangerous, songwriters have always amplified the cry against fascism. Unfortunately, these bellwethers are often drowned by the cacophony of hateful slogans and rhetoric.
With Stellar Evolution, Aaron Lee Tasjan demonstrates he is ready to accept the challenges that accompany being a face of social justice. While the messages and themes are heavy, this anthemic album also works on less substantial levels: it is pure fun. And really, that is the best kind of protest music—the kind you can dance and sing-a-long to!
Fervor Coulee- roots music opinion 