Tash Hagz “Images Of Imogen”

Tash Hagz is the alter ego of Birmingham, UK singer/songwriter Mike Shields, and his new single “Images Of Imogen” is pretty safe to assume is a song about visions of the UK where he lives, but it is also about how we view images. We all visualize and describe visions differently, and “Imogen” is the metaphor this song uses, with pictures of a woman in the video to help play it out. It could be anything but Tash Hagz keeps it mysterious enough, although if you read up on him and see the dialog placed under this video at YouTube, you can see where his mind is at concerning his song.

This is a wonderful track with everything going for it and the video well accommodates it, making the song stick. The voice of Hagz keeps up with any good veteran folk singer out there, and I can tell he’s written a lot of songs and is no new comer, just new to me. The freshness of hearing him for the first time checked out, and it was easy to listen to this track and watch the video as they both bring plenty to the table during the global pandemic.

Make no mistake, this is alternative rock, as Hagz describes it, but it leans heavily on the folk and even country side of rock to land alternative. Not being familiar with Hagz before, I can’t be sure how the rest of his music leans, but this is more folk music based than rock at the end of the day. After many plays of the video I did want to hear more from what I find to be a great songwriter, so it’s recommended to subscribe and save the artist in your browser. Digital music is the savior of 2020 if you’re if you’re a fan, so add it to the playlist and loop it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUajiTgcd2Y

The lyrics are personalized to Hagz, but easy to add your own imagination to, especially if you know anything Imogen and the subject matter loosely displayed in the video. I am no expert about the words to songs, but I got the overall picture enough to instantly grow fond of the track and that’s all that really matters. If the fans catch on you know it isn’t hard to swallow. And for a piano ballad with acoustics, “Images Of Imogen” is as good as they come.

I find Hagz to be of the world class musicianship and songwriting level, as I was captivated by this song and video before the first outing of it was over, and that is the mark of any classic. Not only is the song compelling, but the video helps with the hypnotizing hooks and I was glad to get early previews of it to go with the terrific music. “Images Of Imogen” should get high marks for both its sonic audio and its video production qualities, and it welcomes more of where Tash Hagz is coming from on his musical mission, and some humor is involved.

Mindy McCall