Tariq

Tariq has been rattling around the Canadian music scene since around 1995 with his debut Splat. Since then, the Montreal ex-pat has been nominated for a Juno, been dumped by EMI and palled around with a variety of the who's who of songwriters, like Jules Shear and ex-Go-Go Charlotte Caffey. Out of this wringer comes While You're Down There, not an entirely offensive pop record, Tariq has positioned himself nicely for radio play, particularly with "Liberal Guy." This won't change your life, or help you find religion all of a sudden, but it won't make you run screaming either, as Tariq mixes the mellowness of modern Canadian songwriting ("What About You") with the grooves of Lenny Kravitz ("Thanks, Come Again"). The one song of note for me is "She's So Strange." Tariq's While You're Down There, coming to a CBC special near you, with any luck at all.