Tanya is the real deal, though her creative output has been scant over the past several years (due mostly to taking time off to have a child and start a family) Beauty Sleep once again proves to me that she is the most gifted and savvy woman in Rock. She first surfaced in the critically praised band Throwing Muses, playing second fiddle to her half-sister Kristen Hersch and before forming her own band, she teamed with the Pixies' Kim Deal on the first Breeders album. None of these previous incarnations gave even the slightest inkling of the genius she would unleash with Belly's debut outing Star. (My pick for the best album of the 90's). She slipped a notch on Belly's sophomore effort King, but after ditching the band she returned with her '97 solo album Love Songs For Underdogs. A lean, bittersweet broadside of angular popÑthat disappeared without a whimper because of no label support.

Beauty Sleep is another low-profile release that I beg you to seek out. Her only rival for being the coolest chick in the biz is PJ Harvey. And like Polly Jean she delivers this cycle of songs with a voice that is equal parts ferocity and delicate vulnerability. Like the ultimate seductress she plants her sly hooks under your skin, and with each spin the infection grows. Tanya is a true Rock Goddess whose powers have not faded in the least.