Taylor Young Band - Belong Together
Taylor Young Band - Rattled
Taylor Young Band - Out of My Mind
Taylor Young Band - Shine on Me
Taylor Young Band
With his scruffy beard, pearl snap shirt and soulful blue eyes, Taylor Young certainly looks the part of a Texas born and bred singer-songwriter. However, his solo debut, Mercury Transit, reveals an artist unafraid to break from convention and unwilling to be typecast.
That figures, since he’s taken such a roundabout journey to get here. As a teenager, Young broke onto the Dallas music scene as the drummer for local psychedelic heroes Hi-Fi Drowning. His frenetic-yet-flawless playing style quickly earned gigs with the likes of Young Heart Attack and The Polyphonic Spree, but after years of touring he longed to step out from behind the kit. When he finally did, Young defied expectations and co-founded folk-country duo The O’s, honing his songwriting, guitar playing and frontman presence over four albums and hundreds of live shows.
With Taylor Young Band, these seemingly incongruent split personalities meet. Under the guiding hand of producer and bandmate Toby Pipes, the entire album was recorded on analog outboard equipment in Pipes’ College Station, Texas home studio. Over a year of laid-back regular sessions, the two discovered the perfect balance of Young’s uncanny gift for melody and a clever turn of phrase with Pipes’ shimmering atmospherics and pop sensibility.
The result is an album that’s more power pop than country, with breezy harmonies and big hooks seasoned with just a pinch of Southern twang. Opener “Get Around” gets the point across right away, sounding like Alex Chilton fronting Teenage Fanclub. The genre-bending continues on the lead single, “Rattled,” which wraps a Tom Petty style ballad in a cozy shoegaze blanket.
A persuasively optimistic hopeless romantic, Young sings earnestly about almost blowing it (“Make You Wanna Stay”), post-breakup second thoughts (“Out of My Mind”), and cosmic eternal destiny (“Shine On Me”). He’s also an old-school storyteller, ripping through honky tonk stomps “Daze of the Week” and “Drinkin” with a wink and self-deprecating smile.
Ted Lasso with a telecaster, Young imbues the entire record with relentless positivity – even against all odds. Album standout “Wrong Place, Wrong Time” turns a string of bad luck into the jauntiest jangle pop this side of The Smiths. It’s this disarming sort of charm that turns strangers into friends, and helps friends feel sure everything will work out fine in the end.
The current incarnation of Taylor Young Band sees Young and Pipes joined by guitarist Michael Smith and drummer Austin Green – further evolving and expanding the signature Americana dream pop sound established on Mercury Transit.
"The debut album, Mercury Transit, contains 10 original songs all written by Young in a jangly pop style with a touch of country twang, which has elements of The Byrds and The Jayhawks. It is an optimistic album full of breezy arrangements and strong melodies"
"For those of you who like the power pop twang of the likes of Marshall Crenshaw, Teenage Fanclub, and Big Star with a little hint of country, Texas singer-songwriter Taylor Young could be a new favourite act...hurling hooky songs at us willy-nilly (Make You Wanna Stay, Five Cents, Out of My Mind) with the help of producer and bandmate Toby Pipes"
"Taylor Young Band follows in the footsteps of melodic jangle pop rockers from the ‘60s through the ‘80s (think The Byrds, Big Star, and The Plimsouls), but gives it their own distinctive modern twist, making it at once familiar yet innovative."
"The first album from laid-back Texan tunesmith Taylor Young and his like minded musical cohorts mines a rich vein of jangling melodic power pop which has already prompted highly favourable comparisons with the likes of Tom Petty, The Byrds and Alex Chilton’s cult heroes Big Star. Young’s heady fusion of Americana and radio friendly mid-tempo rock certainly repays closer investigation, with timeless gems such as “Shine On Me,” “Rattled” and “Get Around” capturing the essence of his unashamedly accessible sound"
"With its jangle guitars, vocal harmonies and vintage Mersey beat, this vintage...even pushes the cork to evoke, with its ample pop arrangements, the splendors of the flagship of the genre"
"The great freshness of the melodies, the crystal clear quality of the production in the hands of Toby Pipes, [and] a deeply honest and genuine approach, are the qualities that characterize these ten songs"
"Young and producer-bandmate Toby Pipes of Deep Blue Something recorded and played most of the instruments at Pipes’ home studio in College Station. At times sounding like a twangy Teenage Fanclub, these 10 original songs embrace all the hallmarks of vintage ‘70s power pop, including soaring choruses, chiming guitars and hopeful romanticism. The results are not just irresistible – they’re timeless. " - David Yokamoto
“A creative flair of charismatic rock that conjures up 70’s power pop, radio-friendly wails, and inspirational anthems. The four-piece convey a sense of songwriting strength and power that reflects Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Lord Huron and Caamp.”
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