A solid debut album blending roots rock and country with songs that suggest future greatness.
The point at which Country becomes Americana is the subject of much debate at AUK. With Nick Taylor’s debut we have the ideal subject for examination. Opening with a compressed drum beat and guitar slide ‘Dogs’ jumps straight in with the rock and roll elements that shift it firmly into Americana territory. A Benmont Tench Hammond organ, gritty guitar solo, and a voice that commits to the words with a passion so often missing from modern country.
The acoustic ‘Future’s Past’ comes across as Bruce Hornsby attempting Bluegrass, thanks to David Flint’s Mandolin. And that sets the tone for the rest of the album. ‘3am on the Interstate’ is another song that is as close to Bob Seger or Tom Petty as country.
‘Kentucky Girl’ (with ‘Dogs’ recycled from his 2020 debut ‘Family Tree EP’) is Country Rock of the best sort, a driving beat, a cleanly picked guitar solo (David Flint is definitely the album’s most valuable player) and a heartfelt lyric. It also marks the point at which more variation appears in the music, ‘Heart On the Run’ is another country rock tune, this time driven by a stinging steel guitar. ‘Carry You Home’ introduces a more reflective tone, with Fiddle shifting from mournful to joyful to highlight the theme of “you’ve got friends around to help carry you home.“ The Baritone guitar on ‘Dead Land Future’ adds that touch of difference which he needs to stand out from the rest of the Americana singer-songwriter crowd
The album closes with ‘Song About The Glory.’ The best song here it looks at the failure of the America Dream to reach most people. “I’d like to settle on the prairie. Build a home out of sticks. Pretend I’m a man. Who’s found his luck again. I imagine the dream. Washing right up to my feet, (and) I close my eyes. And I drift out to sea.” This is great and the place where Taylor finds the lyrical excellence that the rest of the album hints he is capable of.
Except it’s not the end, the acoustic ‘Lover’s Dream’ is a good song and deserves better than to be buried as a “hidden track” at the end of the album.
Having points of comparisons to Country and “Heartland Rock” artists like Seger suggest that Nick Taylor is finding his feet as an artist. Which would be mostly true. In songs like ‘Dogs’, ‘Kentucky Girl’ and ‘Dead Land Future’ you can feel his musical personality developing “I make music to help me understand and connect to the world and the people around me,” Taylor says. “I’ve always believed that music connects us all on an emotional and spiritual level, all I can do is put this music out into the world and hope others feel that connection too.” This is a very creditable debut and builds a solid foundation to create a career on.
