SJ Tucker

One of my favorite all-time pagan artists that I’ve discovered is SJ Tucker, both as herself and as Tricky Pixie. Discovery rights go to K’ia Dragon of Pagan Chaos Magic – at least, that’s how I discovered her music.

I understand she’s fairly popular in multiple circles, but there’s a reason for that. The two albums I own most of are Mythcreants and Blessings; Mythcreants is just plain fun. There’s a ten minute song retelling of Tam Lin that’s fantastic, and a few other notable fun tracks – Taglio and Water’s In The Hold for me, but most of the album is pretty solidly along the same lines. The lyrics are all myth, magic,and the great outdoors, running a gamut between vaguely creepy to humorous. It’s folk music, so there’s guitar, fiddle, and various percussion, etc.

Thank all gods for the percussion. Without something to hold a tune together, whether it’s tambourine or a full drum kit, my attention span falls apart in moments. It’s a personal fluke, but it means that a lot of “stripped down” and live recordings drive me up the wall.

Firebird’s Child, off of Blessings, has percussion, singing, and no other instrumentals, and that works better for me than the other way around. Blessings was written with pagans in mind – many of the tracks work well as bonfire chants, mood music, or ritual mood music. Personally, I like Firebird’s Child and Hymn to Herne best, but again, the whole album is pretty cohesive. The lyrics are really where it shines – they manage to walk the line between magically symbolic and completely hokey without ever crossing too far into the wrong side. If everything else I’ve ever seen is any indication, that’s a really difficult balance to maintain.

In conclusion, here’s Tam Lin. I hope you enjoy it!

Blessed Be,

Pennanti