TVM is the vehicle for the multi-talented singer / songwriter / instrumentalist / “sound designer” Tai Vare - a veteran of The Pasadenas, Slice, and composer for a laundry list of commercials in Europe and the United States. Without A Net is, without a doubt, one of the best adult pop albums to emerge in the digital age (which means the last seven or eight years). Vare’s arrangements are lean and funky without pandering to vogue technology (are you listening Justin Timberlake, Rob Thomas?). The melodies are instantly hum-able, and the lyrics, especially in the rambling “Mother’s Gone” run deep. Vare rocks hard in “Truth About Us” - a thumper worthy of the Foo Fighters. “This Time” is the sort of techno hit we keep hoping Depeche Mode will render one of these years. “Breathe” opens with a riff Keith Richards would kill for - and if you’ve seen him in those recent Louis Vuitton ads, you know what you’re in for. If Vare doesn’t strike gold with Net, there is something really, really wrong with the record business.
--Tom Semioli [June 30, 2008]
