The Oakland, California singer/songwriter Boy Scouts (aka Taylor Vick) releases ‘That’s Life Honey‘, the first single from her new album, ‘Wayfinder‘.
There are so many hugely talented young female indie singer/songwriters coming out of the US at the moment that it must feel daunting to feel you’re having to work alongside women like Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Tomberlin, Squirrel Flower, Jay Som, et al. However, it’s not something Boy Scouts should lose any sleep about. Boy Scouts is quietly but sure-footedly taking her rightful place as one of the best of them… although, it’s hard to imagine Boy Scouts trying to elbow her way to the front of anything: quietly, wryly observing from the sidelines would seem to be more her style.
‘That’s Life Honey‘ opens with the timeless mix of acoustic guitar, bass and drums that bring to mind Neil Young’s ‘Heart of Gold‘ or Conor Oberst’s ‘Zigzagging Toward The Light‘, but when Taylor Vick’s vocals come in, you hear an understated but distinctive voice that delivers her lyrics with a confessional intimacy that doesn’t seem in any way forced or affected. With three previous albums released, Vick is an experienced songwriter who knows how to hook a listener and ‘That’s Life Honey‘ holds up to repeated listens thanks to the excellent production from her longtime collaborator Stephen Steinbrink and some lovely playing from various talented friends and family who guested on the album.
The label has pulled out all the stops with a promo high on cinematic production values. The song deals with the struggle to find the resources needed to recover from adversity and Vick is filmed literally ‘at sea’, alone on ocean in a small boat as she searches for a safe harbour. Director Jake Nokovic and DOP David Hughes Jr do a good job of getting the most from the limited space available when filming in such a confined space and there’s even some nice performance footage of Vick singing and playing guitar in the tiny cabin.
Boy Scouts brings an impressive, quiet intensity to thoughtful, well-written indie-folk songs. Get onboard and take a trip out on the lonely ocean with her.
