Caress Releases Debut LP 'Night Call'

Caress releases her debut album Night Call today. The LP was written and produced by Caress aka Tara Jane and is out on Negative Gain Productions.

Caress says: "For the album ‘Night Call’ I wanted to explore different themes of being drawn to the dark. Each song on the album explores a unique subject of interest: heartbroken love spells, cold city nights, obsession, destruction, vampires and my relationship with myself and experiences as a queer woman.

For the production, I used a variety of synths mainly my vintage 80’s Korg Poly-800 and Casio CZ-101 which created this cohesive 80’s synth inspired sound. I wrote and recorded all of the songs in my old apartment called ‘The Dungeon’ where I had only one barred window in this little loft in Echo Park with these crazy high ceilings and my home studio was built underneath the loft bed where I tracked and recorded everything in this super confined space."

Of the title track: "The song ‘Night Call’ was inspired by a lust for the night, love spells and sensuality. I imagine my vocals were meant to sound like an ex dead lover’s voice haunting a city tunnel. It’s actually my favorite to perform live. I exclusively used my Casio CZ-101 for all of the synths, to get this more playful 80’s vintage sound. Because of the elusiveness, energy and call to darkness of the song, I felt ‘Night Call’ embodied the themes of my upcoming full length album and it inspired the title: ‘Night Call’."

Caress is the solo darkwave electronic project from Tara Jane, inspired by dreamy vintage 4AD Goth as well as more contemporary dark pop artists such as TR/ST, Kontravoid and Boy Harsher. Jane fronts LA shoegazers Blood Candy and with Caress, she explores new sonic soundscapes with her muse being eighties dark wave, industrial and modern synth pop.

Caress's songs contain hypnotic pulsating drum beats, sparkling analogue synths and reverb drenched guitar melodies that frame haunting vocals and lyrics about desire, lust and pain. Her solo work first got some attention during the pandemic with a reinvention Patti Smith's Dancing Barefoot. 

"I've always been drawn to darkness in multiple forms if it’s humor, aesthetic, interests and the album so reflection of that, so I wanted the compositions to be energetic, dark and tender but wrapped in this like cloak of mystery and sensuality which really resonates with my personality and the whole essence of Caress. So it’s exciting to share this whole goth party that’s the ‘Night Call’ album. 

Photo Credit: Ashley Alvarez @caged.la