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Hayley Taylor’s full-length debut is worth the wait
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Not just another pretty singer-songwriter (though she is quite easy on the eyes), Hayley Taylor just...Not just another pretty singer-songwriter (though she is quite easy on the eyes), Hayley Taylor just released her full-length debut, One Foot in Front of the Other, this week. It comes in the wake of her acclaimed 2006 EP, Waking, which was produced by A.J. Mogis (Bright Eyes). Taylor, who sounds a bit like a folksier Liz Phair if backed by a small orchestra, writes about falling in and out of love with a real frankness. She recently phoned in from her L.A. home to talk about the album and how recent tragic events inspired many of the songs.
You were hailed as a rising star of the indie music scene when your debut EP came out in 2006. What have you been doing since then?
I started playing around L.A. more and playing those songs out. I started writing some new songs. I recorded five of them with Eric Robinson and was going to put that out as an EP but I really wanted to do a full-length album. I was excited about the songs. I did five more with Dan Romer who is really incredible and has worked with Ingrid Michaelson and other people I admire. We redid a song from the first EP and I added a cellist and I love the part she plays on that. I’ve been working on the record and putting everything together.
And whose idea was it to put together the mini orchestra that plays on the album?
It definitely was all my idea. The producers definitely influence me. Dan [Romer] brought in a ukulele and a Rhodes piano and cool instruments that I hadn’t thought of. I have a cellist who plays regularly with me and her brother who plays viola. I wanted them on the record. My uncle had been a band leader and trumpet player and took a snippet of him playing trumpet in “Felt like Love.” I wanted him to play on the record but by the time I was recording, he wasn’t able to. Unfortunately, he died last year. But he did hear the album. I love that he got to hear it.
From the opening notes of “Waking,” I feel like the songs here have a theme of falling in and out of love. Is it a break-up album?
Um, I don’t think I would classify it as a break-up album as much as it’s a wake-up album. A lot of the songs are about questioning what love is. Ultimately, it’s about finding your own path and figuring out who you are and believing other people when they tell you who they are. There’s this great Elliott Smith song where he says, “You broke your own heart/that’s the saddest part.” A lot of heartbreak has been wanting things to be different than they actually are. There’s a lot of thinking about love. It’s an important topic for me. It’s definitely an amalgamation of different stages of love. Then, putting one foot in front of the other means to keep moving forward and take those experiences with you and let everyone and everything be your teacher. I think self-love is so important and needs to come before everything else. I mean that in a caring for yourself kind of way.
I know you’ve said the songs are about taking one day at a time. But usually when people say that, it’s because something has happened to make them think that way. Was there a defining moment in your life that made you start thinking in those terms?
This last year definitely there was a lot that happened that ended a lot of chapters in my life and pushed me forward and made this time a new beginning for me. An ex-boyfriend died last summer and a good friend died last year and my uncle died last year, too. I was in the midst of mixing and mastering the album and there was definitely difficult to keep going in the midst of that. That’s what “one foot in front of the other” means. That’s life and there are going to be wonderful moments and tragic moments and we have to keep going. The people I lost are with me but would want me to keep going. It’s a great way of looking at life. It’s so overwhelming and difficult if you try to think of what’s in store.
You joined a choir when you were 13 but didn’t like it much. What do you think you got out of that experience?
I don’t if it was that I didn’t like it. I didn’t like middle school or junior high. It was fun getting to sing in a choir. You get to hear the different voices and are playing off the different voices. I played classical piano growing up and taught me the basics. It gave me knowledge about music that I didn’t even know I had. It gave me a real love for music, too. I actually sang at a Jerry Lewis telethon when I was 2. I sang “9 to 5” dressed up as Dolly Parton. My mom says I used to put it on repeat and just sing it over and over. I grew up singing and playing piano and dancing. My parents wanted to give me any artistic pursuit I could. In high school, I focused on school and stopped playing piano. Then in college, I was exposed to so many amazing bands and started playing guitar a little bit and opened a whole other world of music. Neither of my parents are musical in any way. It definitely was surprising to me that I was passionate about it.
How formative have those shows at L.A.’s Hotel Café been?
It’s been really wonderful because it’s such a great community of artists. It’s so supportive and inspiring. Every time I go there to see a show, I’m so inspired by all the artists. Everyone has something completely different to say. You get such a great quality of music. I can show up and not even know who’s playing and see a great show.
What’s it been like moving back and forth between New York and L.A.?
It was great. I had never lived in New York City, but I lived in Chelsea and loved it but it was so intense. The first year I was in art school, so I didn’t feel the vibe of the city so much. The second year I went back to music and away from painting and my second year I was recording and it was a lot lonelier than my life in L.A. Most of my friends in New York had nine to five jobs and couldn’t really hang out. Most of my friends in L.A. have freelance part time jobs. I was exposed to this whole singer-songwriter community in Park Slope which I loved. I love New York and I love L.A. and there are things I hate about both places. I would love to be bicoastal.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
I am booking local shows right now and hoping to do some touring on the West Coast. I am excited to play this record out and hope to be in the studio early next year to record another album.
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Album review of Hayley Taylor's new release "One Foot in Front of the Other"
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If you have not yet heard Los Angeles’ Hayley Taylor’s new album One Foot in Front of the Other, do ...If you have not yet heard Los Angeles’ Hayley Taylor’s new album One Foot in Front of the Other, do yourself a favor- and find it today! This is an album that combines pop hooks and impeccable arrangements with an underlayer of clear, solid song structure.
Hayley will likely have you at hello with the first track "Waking." The second song "Felt Like Love" sounds something like Colbie Calliat, Taylor Swift, or modern day Mandy Moore covering a classic Tom Petty/Jeff Lynne song. Now, if you find that confusing, then just think of it this way: huge commercial potential on top of being clearly very artistically appealing!
There is nothing obvious separating the bouncy, often poignant and even sultry, tuneful songs Hayley is singing from the quality music with which Colbie Calliat wins Grammys. There was a time when quality mattered in music. That time begins anew. Perhaps, we did not know "How good we had it" but Hayley Taylor reminds us that, as the quantity of artists has increased, there are in fact more quality pop-rock musicians than there has ever been.
Don’t look up too long or you might miss the substance. And "Don't Look Down" either because it's okay to chew gum and walk at the same time. The Beatles did just that until they finally put one foot in front of the other in crossing that Abbey Road.
It's no fantasy to suggest that Hayley is an artist who can make a very real imprint on the new music world, whose best may even be still to come.
You can't start a fire without a spark, and as we come in to the light, Hayley's music is not just "Pretty in the Dark." These are "Bulletproof" pop songs, bittersweet, joyous, clever and well constructed. With her well polished pop and seductive, pitch perfect vocals, Hayley is stepping forward into even bigger and better things. There is no more wishing for the next great rock-pop artist to emerge. See her right here in front of you... and don't look back.
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One Foot in Front of the Other
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HAYLEY TAYLOR
One Foot In Front of the Other
September 8, 2010
Even though this is her first ...HAYLEY TAYLOR
One Foot In Front of the Other
September 8, 2010
Even though this is her first CD release I don't expect this to be her last. Hayley Taylor seems to have all the right connections to keep moving up in the music scene. Her music runs the gamut from perky pop to lushly layered love songs to maudlin demi-blues. An example of the former would be “Felt Like Love”. “How Good We Had It” has an infectious harp-like rhythm and smooth harmonies, as does “Orange Tree”, and the introduction of sweetly flowing/ebbing violins in the mix make for a beautiful song in “Plans”. The girl blues are ably represented by “Waking”, “No More Wishing”, “What's Going On?”. “Pretty In The Dark” has some very catchy rhythms, and it's a shame that she has to resort to a banned word for the sake of poetic rhyming. This and a few other cuts, though, do bring to mind a toned-down Liz Phair-ish music. “Bulletproof” has that edgy love-hate angst you hear from Liz Phair, as does “Don't Look Down”. Overall, this CD grows on you, and starts to feel like a favorite piece of clothing that you just cannot part with. Steven “Nick” Nickelson
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Pajammy Jam of the Day
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"Wake up, I'm trying to show you..."
Love is a weird thing, we all know that. Whether you're in l..."Wake up, I'm trying to show you..."
Love is a weird thing, we all know that. Whether you're in love, have been in love, have been burned by love, its power has probably has fooled you a time or two. And that's okay, as long as you're willing to not give up. Love makes us all come clean, sooner or later.
And as Steve Earle once sang, when it comes to love, "sometimes the best that you can do is just jump back in." We all need to find our fearless hearts.
I admire Hayley Taylor for defining her idea of a true love, one that requires "no more wishing." Taylor, a singer-songwriter born in Michigan and raised in Los Angeles, has been called "refreshingly unassuming" by Pitchfork. That's high praise, if you ask me.
Taylor's One Foot in Front of the Other was released yesterday. Have a listen to "No More Wishing" below!
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MUSIC: CD REVIEWS, Hayley Taylor: One Foot in Front of the Other
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Hayley Taylor’s One Foot in Front of the Other puts a smile on your face and some pep in your step. ...Hayley Taylor’s One Foot in Front of the Other puts a smile on your face and some pep in your step. You fall in love with her spunky and energetic lyrics.
With a voice comparable to Ingrid Michaelson, Taylor gives a fresh voice to the singer-songwriter genre. While it’s understandably tough taking a chance these days on a new artist, Taylor won’t disappoint. She’s got one of those voices where you just can’t turn the CD player off.
Among Taylor’s finest on the album are “Felt Like Love” and “No More Wishing.” The album flows extremely well, so when Taylor decides to drop a heavier song, it holds its weight.
Grade: A
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Interview: LA-Based Singer/Songwriter Hayley Taylor on Art, Acting and Her Debut Album
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Although Hayley Taylor released her debut full-length album yesterday, chances are you've already he...Although Hayley Taylor released her debut full-length album yesterday, chances are you've already heard her music on shows such as How I Met Your Mother and Royal Pains. Taylor's tunes are the type that'd inspire a writer to craft a scene around one of her songs.
It all started with the release of her 2006 EP, Waking, which served up a taste of what was to come four years later. With the help of producers Dan Romer and Eric Robinson, Taylor's new record, One Foot in Front of the Other, is a bright, tender and saucy collection that'll keep you coming back for more.
In addition to her talents as a musician, Taylor has made her name for herself as a film and TV actress, as well as an artist who studied at the Sorbonne and Vassar College. But it's her music that's taking center stage now, and LAist caught up with Taylor last week to learn more about the new album, her early acting role opposite Barbra Streisand, and her record release show Thursday night at the Hotel Cafe.
LAist: "Felt Like Love" features some great instruments—such as the ukulele and trumpet. What's one of your favorite aspects of that upbeat track?
Hayley Taylor: The trumpet part means a lot—that's my uncle [Dr. Murray Postal] playing on the song. I'd always wanted my uncle to play on a song of mine, because he'd been a bandleader and had played the trumpet most of his life.
By the time I started recording, he was 89 and too ill to play the trumpet. But my aunt found this cassette of him playing in '76 and my producer was able to take that recording and change the key to make it work in the song. I was able to play it for him right before he died, and it was really special.
Hayley Taylor - "Felt Like Love"
You just filmed the video for "Felt Like Love." What's the concept behind it and when will it be released?
I was hoping it'd be done in time for the CD release at the Hotel Cafe, but it's looking more like it'll be ready in early September. We filmed some of it at the Natural History Museum in LA. I'd never been there before and it was so awesome. I especially loved the live butterfly exhibit; we had a blast filming in it.
Hayley Taylor and Erik Stocklin in Taylor's music video for "Felt Like Love."
The first track of this new album is called "Waking." The EP you released a few years ago was called Waking, but didn't have a song by that name on it. Did you write the song after you released your EP?
I did. Looking back, I realize it's confusing and ask myself why I did it. Everyone wanted me to change the name of the song, but by the time I was putting it on the album, I was already really attached to the name.
I think the idea and the theme of waking up was really important to me at the time I wrote the EP and the song. It's still important now, but at that point, I felt like I was going through a massive waking up in my life. Things were suddenly illuminated—like I had been in a deep sleep for a long time and was finally wide awake.
"Orange Tree" is the only song that's on both the EP and the full-length album. Was it hard picking which song to include on both?
Yes. At first, I wasn't going to redo any of those songs, but then a cello player [Adrienne Woods] joined my band, and she hadn't been with me when I recorded the EP. She plays this awesome part on "Orange Tree," so I really wanted to record and remix that song, because I felt like that gave it more life.
When did you realize that you wanted the cello to be a regular fixture in your band?
I've always loved the cello. I think it may be my favorite instrument because there's something soul-wrenching about it. Plus Damien Rice's music and his incorporation of cello definitely inspired me. I wanted something that went well with the acoustic singer/songwriter vibe, plus I love how with cello you can do a call-and-answer between vocals and cello.
"Pretty in the Dark" is such a strong song. Is that a fun one to get into when you're performing live?
Definitely. I love the bridge because I can totally rock out. The more upbeat songs like this one definitely come across well live and are fun to get into. It's a sorta tongue-in-cheek song about a girl who's been hurt by this guy. Although they didn't have a super-intense relationship in real life, in her mind they did.
Hayley Taylor - "Pretty in the Dark"
The song "Plans" tells an interesting story. Do you feel that it closely relates to the title of the album and the idea of taking things one step at a time?
It does. That song is a little bittersweet for me because I wrote the song with a certain friend in mind, and unfortunately, she passed away earlier this year. After that, it was definitely difficult to finish the album and keep going.
She died, my uncle died and my ex-boyfriend died all within the last year. It changed my life. One chapter ended, a new one began and there was no going back.
Don't miss Hayley Taylor and her band (Adrienne Woods, Ethan Schreiber and Chris Miller) Thursday night at the Hotel Cafe / Photo by Alex PragerDid your art help to sustain you as you were going through all of that?
It totally did—it grounded me and provided an outlet where I could process my feelings. I have a hard time letting go of people and things in my life. Writing a song sort of creates a photograph that preserves the feeling and the memory.
Do you ever feel like, if you're having a mental block with your music, you can turn to painting to work it out, and vice-versa?
Yeah, I always have to be doing something creative. I can't stop myself. This year I took a sewing class and made a quilt. I loved it, though my friends couldn't believe I was doing that. I also paint a lot, and lately I've been making wooden, vintage-y signs.
Getting back to the music a bit, in your bio you talk about your influences. How did artists such as Aimee Mann and Elliott Smith change your perspective on music-making?
Before getting into singer/songwriters, I was really into bands. Early on, I found myself in one. I loved it, but the guitar player really wanted to be in a jam band and everyone had a different agenda and it was a chaotic environment. I just wanted to play music.
At that point, I started getting into artists like Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley, Aimee Mann and Elliott Smith. There's just something about that music that hits me so deeply and means so much. I love the storytelling aspect of it.
Talking about that first band—Kindle—do you think that perhaps an executive from Amazon.com caught one of your early shows and got inspired by the name?
I really think so. (laughs) When the Kindle reader came out, I couldn't believe it. I'd spent so much time coming up with the perfect band name.
You and actress Amber Benson once formed a band called Rhodestar. What did that experience teach you about performing live?
I learned to let the songs carry you. Everyone seemed to really like our songs even though we had no clue what we were doing. We didn't know about song structure and we were recording on a four-track that Amber barely knew how to use. I could play two chords on guitar, and her sister could play four, so it was definitely minimal.
One time I played the recorder—like ones you'd play at school—on a track we were recording. It sounded awesome, but unfortunately that song was on a cassette tape that later disappeared. I'm upset I don't have a copy of that one, because it was hysterical.
Hayley Taylor / Photo by Alex PragerYou'll have to record a cover of it!
I don't think I could ever repeat that performance on the recorder. I never paid attention in school when we were learning it, so it was definitely an improv performance. (laughs)
Your music has been used extensively on TV shows and in commercials. How do you relate to music on TV, and how has that impacted your career?
Years ago, I started noticing the trend of TV and music merging together, and that was really exciting. Up until then, I'd mostly associated music and TV with theme songs.
At some point, it was either on Felicity or The OC where I heard a song and immediately went to look it up. That became a huge avenue for me to find new music. One day, it clicked in my head that this was the best way to get people to hear my music. You always hope that the music is behind some beautiful scene that really captures the emotion. It makes a major impact when it's done right.
Sometimes you don't even need an emotional scene for that to happen. I read an article where a man had written to his local newspaper asking for information about the artist singing in a certain Vicks Dayquil commercial...
I know! It's so crazy. In my head, I initially imagined it would be this romantic love story. When I saw the final commercial, I thought, "This is interesting!" But I was really excited to be part of it, and it was funny that even with this guy hacking and coughing, the music carried through and a lot of people tracked down the song as a result.
In addition to singing for TV, you've also made a number of appearances as an actress. Would you share a memorable experience from your early acting days?
I worked with Barbra Streisand [on the film Nuts] when I was eight or nine years old, and I had no clue who she was. When I went in to interview, I sat with her and the film's director, Martin Ritt. They asked me, "Can you be strong?" And I said, "Hmm…sometimes." I guess that was the right answer because I ended up doing the film, and it was such an incredible experience.
Your singing career got a jump-start after you sang a Dar Williams song in an acting class. Which one was it?
It's called "Family" and it's such a beautiful song. My best friend's little sister once played it for me on guitar, and I thought it was one of the best songs ever. I just had to learn it.
Hayley Taylor's debut albumYou've been on the LA music scene for a number of years. Which venues are your favorites?
I love the Hotel Cafe. It's my favorite place because I've been playing there and seeing shows there since it first opened. A friend of mine—who's now in Maroon 5 but was in a different band at the time—took me there when it still had a pool table and a jukebox and no live music. When they started with the live music, my friends and I played some gigs.
Then I went away to New York for two years. While I was gone, they expanded the place and it became this whole other entity. Back in the day, it was this tiny hidden gem. Now it's a gem that people know about!
I also love Largo. I haven't been to the new one but the old one was one of my favorite places and I can't wait to go back.
Would you give us a preview of your CD release show at the Hotel Cafe this Thursday?
Sure! I'm really excited because we're going to have a full band—cello, drums, bass, electric guitar and ukulele. Plus I've just made up my first t-shirts for merch, so that's been really exciting.
Other than music venues, where else do you love to hang out in LA?
I love the beach—Venice and Santa Monica especially—and just feeling the ocean air.
In addition to that, I live in the Hollywood Hills and I love the area around Franklin. I go to La Poubelle and the Bourgeois Pig all the time.
Is there any part of LA you'd still like to explore?
This is really random, but I want to track down this summer camp I went to when I was eight. It was called Camp Hollywoodland and it's somewhere up in the canyon. My friend and I have been talking about trying to find it. It's probably five minutes from where I live, but at the time it felt really far away!
Thanks for speaking with LAist, Hayley!
Don't miss Hayley Taylor's CD release show Thursday night (8 p.m. on August 26) at the Hotel Cafe. Learn more about her music at www.hayleytaylor.com.
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MP3: New Hayley Taylor
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One Foot in Front of the Other, the full-length debut album from singer-songwriter Hayley Taylor, wi...One Foot in Front of the Other, the full-length debut album from singer-songwriter Hayley Taylor, will be released August 24. This is the follow-up to Taylor's highly praised 2006 EP Waking, which was produced by AJ Mogis (Bright Eyes) and will be marked by a special CD release show at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles on August 26. Additional dates to be announced.
We've got an MP3 sample for you: "Felt Like Love"
Taylor has found great success in the realm of film and TV with multiple placements in commercials, TV shows, and movie soundtracks. Songs from the new record have already been featured on several popular television shows, including " How I Met Your Mother," " Royal Pains," " Privileged," and MTV's " Real World Challenge." "Felt Like Love" was recently featured in a Vick's campaign. Recorded in Los Angeles and New York, One Foot in Front of the Other was produced by Dan Romer (Ingrid Michaelson) and Eric Robinson (Matt Nathanson, Kate Voegele). It features performances by an all-star cast of players, including Michael Chaves (John Mayer), Ben Peeler (Alexi Murdoch), cellist Adrienne Woods (Josh Radin, Jonas Brothers), Elliot Jacobson (Ingrid Michaelson) and Marshall Altman (Kate Voegele).
Taylor says the album title reflects her own personal mantra and how she's learned to live her life: "I started calling the album ‘One Foot In Front of the Other' early on because it gave me the hope and strength to keep forging ahead. To me, it signifies taking life one day a time and enjoying the journey."
Of her overall writing process, Taylor adds, "Songwriting is a cathartic experience for me - it helps me express what often goes unspoken and allows me to process my feelings. It enables me to create something beautiful out of the joys and struggles of life, capturing in words and music the fleeting breakthroughs of clarity."
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Room Thirteen
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Ladies and gentleman of the United Kingdom and Europe, I would like to introduce you to Hayley Taylo...Ladies and gentleman of the United Kingdom and Europe, I would like to introduce you to Hayley Taylor, singer, songwriter and guitarist. With this, her debut EP we are waking up to yet another brilliant female voice in the music industry.
It is hard to try and say what her music style is, other than beautiful, and majestic. But Hayley says "My sound is kind of, indie/alternative/folk-rock and I just want to share my experiences and express what I have to say." Her music is already somewhat recognisable having been used in commercials and on some movie soundtracks over in the USA.
'Orange Tree' and 'Falling' take us into the bittersweet reactions that we have all felt when involved in a frustrating relationship. Hayley's Hollywood connections can also be seen on the EP. 'What I Never Said' is a great ballad, which was inspired by the death of her friend, former teen heartthrob Jonathan Brandis of "SeaQuest DSV".
'This Is It' sounds like a song that could easily belong to Fiona Apple or KT Tunstall, a great acoustic number, not over powering, something that any Radio DJ would feel comfortable playing on a weekend in the hope of relaxtion and enjoyment. As for 'Rafael' I have heard a critic say that you could mistake this for a Norah Jones track, and I cannot argue with that point, with a heavy bass, but acoustic blending in with the piano to make a wonderful ballad.
Ending with 'What Matters Most', a bittersweet song filled with hope for the future and bitterness of the past Hayley reminds us what state the world is in at the moment and then gives us her Beatles moment "What really matters most is love." Who can really argue with that?
I have no doubt that Hayley Taylor will be a star, I hope that her music gets the wider audience it really deserves. That is why I am asking you all to buy a copy of her EP or listen to it on myspace Myspace/hayleytaylor or have a look at her website www.hayleytaylor.com
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New Artist on the Rise
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Hayley TaylorFantastic indie artist. With her latest working songs like 'No More Wishing', 'Bulletpr...Hayley TaylorFantastic indie artist. With her latest working songs like 'No More Wishing', 'Bulletproof', 'Don't Look Down' and 'Waking', she burst onto the radar when her song was debuted on 'How I Meet Your Mother'. What can I say, her lyric fits. By fit I mean when you listen and it sits right. The lyric seems to be absorbed and before you know it you're paying attention on what it's trying to express and mean. I love artist like this, the one's who has no boundaries. She can express so much in a 3 to 4 minute song without overloaded words. Check her out. Her album and song are hard to find because she's really new but well worth the effort of looking
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Music Connection Review
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Backed by an adept band, Taylor sings her own tunes with a special quality, songs that are lyrically...Backed by an adept band, Taylor sings her own tunes with a special quality, songs that are lyrically compelling and melodically affecting. Her slightly erratic, imperfect voice lends these tracks a distinctive air. "Orange Tree" gets the EP off to a good start. The twangy folk-inspired "What I never said" has a nice acoustic guitar and pedal steel. Taylor exudes a sexy vulnerability on "Falling." All in all, this is a strong calling card for KCRW play and A & R interest.
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Erasing Clouds Review
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Hayley Taylor, Waking (self-released)
Pretty much every week at least one CD will come my way...
Hayley Taylor, Waking (self-released)
Pretty much every week at least one CD will come my way that's explicitly person-centered...that is, it's made by one person, and the cover art includes several photographs of that person. "Singer-songwriter music", is, I guess, the proper way to describe it. It can get hard to distinguish them, and sometimes easy to substitute one for the other before listening. Hayley Taylor's six-song CD Waking is one of these at first glance, there's nothing about the cover that would slap you in the face and say "listen to me!" But listening even once reveals more talent and heart than your average singer-songwriter, one-person-and-a-guitar type of music. And look again at that cover, look inside: there's a collage of family photos that should point you to the fact that this isn't self-focused music, it's human music, about the feelings and experiences of us all. Taylor's songs quietly probe the human condition, From the opening plea for understanding about where a relationship stands ("Orange Tree") to the closing realization song "What Matters Most," the search for connection, for love, is the focus, but it's always handled in a straightforward, heartfelt way, free of clichés. And the songs themselves are gently melodic, never over-dramatic or showy, but all quite involving and compelling, with a lost-in-your-thoughts mood softly accented by pedal steel, cello, and wurlitzer. - dave heaton
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Hayley Taylor - Waking EP
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Music critics are often sent the gamut of music. We hear everything from 15 year olds playing cheap...Music critics are often sent the gamut of music. We hear everything from 15 year olds playing cheap guitars attempting to channel the teenage spirit of Dashboard Confessional to 60 year olds testing the water with their complex guitar chords and Celtic mood. Needless to say, it is few and far between when we are sent an album (that isn’t on our own “best of” charts) that catches our collective ear, and beyond that, forces us to give it press. Hayley Taylor is one such artist. Echoing the vocal talents of Aimee Mann and Rosie Thomas, Taylor and her band of talented musicians take their place among some of the best in the business.
Not only is her vocal delivery a shocking display of “superior pipes,” but her musical ability is based around melancholy chords and tight musicianship. Taylor and her band (made up of some top of the line session musicians) give a superb outing on this, their first album. Waking is a melancholy love sick disc filled with bittersweet tunes and a soulful voice. Compared to Aimee Mann, Liz Phair, and Rosie Thomas, Hayley Taylor cuts a sound just different enough to make it her own.
Waking is only an EP. Which, to the musical obsessee, means that there are about six fewer songs than there should be. However, though lacking in length, it makes up in quality. Waking chronicles some of the ups and downs of love. Songs like “Orange Tree” and “Falling” take us into the bittersweet reactions of a frustrated relationship. “Orange Tree” plays to the melancholy feel of the Rhodes piano. Draped in minor chords, it is a song that musically backs up the lyrics. “Falling” is a simple alt-country tune with the wonderful pedal steel guitar of Josh Grange.
“What I Never Said” is a waltzy ballad and happens to be my wife’s favorite song on the album. Dedicated to the late actor, and Taylor’s good friend, Jonathan Brandis, it is a song that talks about the pain of losing someone close to you. “All I’ve got left here now are pictures in my mind of the good times you left behind. And it’s hard to think too much now. Cause I still don’t believe you’d leave somehow.”
The beautiful acoustic rocker “This Is It” reminds me of some of the finer points of Fiona Apple and the harmonies of the Beatles, taking the place as the most radio friendly tune on the album. “Rafael” could have been written by either Norah Jones or The Shins—take your pick. The stand up bass sound and the Rhodes piano echo Jones’ “Sunrise” (off of the album Feels Like Home), but the chunky acoustic guitar takes on more of the sound of the ballads of The Shins. Closing the record with the delicate finger picking and strumming of “What Matters Most” is a stroke of genius. “I’ve seen people good be bad. The enemy raise up his flag. And I’ve seen darkness in your eyes. What is right always outweighs the lies… And I know now what really matters most. The child waving who turned into a ghost, the boy who took the bus down the west coast for love.” Dripping with bitterness and hope, it closes the album on a comforting note, reminding the listener that although the state of the world is shot, “What really matters most is love.”
Very rarely do my wife and I get an album that we both appreciate and listen to more than once. This is the glorious exception to the rule. Though Waking doesn’t officially come out until early 2006, it is one that deserves hype now, in the hopes that greater recognition and popularity occur when it is released.
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Pitchfork Review
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Fri: 05-12-06
Hayley Taylor: "What Matters Most"
genre: indie folk
What matters most: love. T...Fri: 05-12-06
Hayley Taylor: "What Matters Most"
genre: indie folk
What matters most: love. That's L.A. folk singer Hayley Taylor's big revelation on her quietly demonstrative song, which is minimally produced by AJ Mogis to recall his work with Bright Eyes circa Oh Holy Fools. She meets him halfway, though, shaping her vocals into a graceful vibrato and writing lyrics and melodies that I mistook for a cover of Oberst's "Oh, You Are the Roots that Sleep blah blah blah" ("the child waving who turned into a ghost," she sings, "the boy who took the bus down the West Coast...for love"). For Taylor the primacy of love is a genuine epiphany, whereas most Bright Eyes tracks build from this fundamental pop-song idea. "What Matters Most" sounds like it represents only a kernel of a larger struggle, which makes Taylor sound all the more uncertain, overwhelmed, and refreshingly unassuming. [Stephen M. Deusner]
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The Next Big Thing
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Emotional lyrics that are sung with the type of raw tenacity that separates your standard female sin...Emotional lyrics that are sung with the type of raw tenacity that separates your standard female singer/songwriters from your great ones, “Waking” by Hayley Taylor is one amazing record. Produced by Taylor and AJ Mogis whose work with two of my favorites, Bright Eyes and Statistics, won’t go unappreciated ever in his lifetime, “Waking” is yet more reason for us to embrace this newer indie pop vibe that independent artists like Bright Eyes, Damien Rice, Rilo Kiley, Belle and Sebastian, and others have managed to carve into a niche that the mainstream even embraces fully. Her vocals are daunting and seem to strike out at your jugular and make their way through your exposed wound into your soul. Looking for the next big thing? Hayley is wearing the crown.
- J-Sin
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Indie Round-Up
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Hayley Taylor, Waking (EP)
While it's fair to ask if we really need another song about a man who ...Hayley Taylor, Waking (EP)
While it's fair to ask if we really need another song about a man who can't commit, the answer, if it's Hayley Taylor's haunting "Orange Tree," is yes. This lovely minor-key tune is a small masterpiece of alt-pop. Taylor's voice is pretty, but, like Nick Drake's or Liz Phair's, plainspoken to the point of discomfort - a sweetly disturbing sensation for the listener. Without remarkable strength or tone, it penetrates deep into the psyche. One almost feels one has been delivered the succinct lyrics telepathically instead of aurally:
You've got your orange tree
I've got the blues
You've got your easy answers but
I want the truth
The dreamy, country-tinged "Fallen" suggests what Radiohead (they're everywhere these days, aren't they?) might sound like with a pedal steel guitar and Aimee Mann singing. Here another frustrated lover (or perhaps the same one) seems to be sadly accepting her fate as a victim of incomplete love:
I'll take the last train car
The one too dark to see
I'll be the bravest heart
The missing part you need
But in the end she remains defiantly hopeful: "Love just keeps on calling/Till you start listening darling." Here Taylor exaggerates her lazy drawl to simultaneously convey resignation, patience and a twinkle of humor, locking them down memorably with simple but sophisticated melodies.
"What I Never Said" layers a Beatle-esque tune over folky acoustic guitars to tell the tale of a volatile and doomed relationship. Taylor sounds very much like the rueful Liz Phair here, swallowing the words as if they're nearly too painful to squeeze out. "You made me breakfast and you screamed 'cause you couldn't cry." Finally, "This Is It" is a catchy little waltz that evokes the Beatles' "Hide Your Love Away."
All four songs are enjoyable, and the best ones show an almost startling songwriting talent. They will appear on Hayley Taylor's upcoming EP. Check her out at Myspace and make a note to buy the disc when it comes out. Very highly recommended for lovers of good songwriting and seriously sexy (or sexily serious) voices.
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Waking to find....
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Waking to find.......
Friday, March 10 2006 8:02 AM CST
Contributed by: Ken
Hayley Taylor's d...Waking to find.......
Friday, March 10 2006 8:02 AM CST
Contributed by: Ken
Hayley Taylor's debut EP came out last week at her EP release show at The Hotel Cafe, and it sure would have been nice to be there. The Hotel Cafe is the hot spot for up and coming songwriters in L.A. and I would imagine a place that Zach Braff spends quite a bit of time, judging from the soundtrack to my favorite TV show. Damn what a good TV show. Someone should hire that man for A&R. Anyway, after gettting an advance copy of Hayley's EP "Waking" it is clear to see that we have a new voice to pay attention to. As rave reviews from us and everywhere under the sky continue to pour in for Jenny Lewis and Neko Case for their take on country, Hayley Taylor is here to throw her unsigned hat into the ring. She's going to put up a good fight. I love this EP "Waking" as much as I do "Rabbit Fur Coat" and "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood". Although you gotta give Jenny and Neko points for the great album titles.
For her first EP though she is stepping out, and dare I say making music as great as both Neko and Jenny? Do I go a step further and say that she is just as pretty as well? Looks like I did both, and yep I'm right.
"Waking" was recorded and produced by A. J. Mogis (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, and member of Criteria) in Nebraska, NYC, and LA. She brought in a cast of players to help fill out the sound including players from bands like Dashboard Confessional, Dwight Yokam, Fiona Apple, and Elliott Smith- but the real show here is Hayley's songs and voice. She's got that comforting yet haunting type of voice that falls somewhere in between Lucinda Williams and Aimee Mann. You can buy the E.P. at CD Baby, and you can keep up with her at her mypace page.
