Maria Taylor Flies Solo

Maria Taylor
LadyLuck
Nettwerk Records
Four Scoops of Bosco

After a stint with popular dream-pop duo Azure Ray and a pair of well-received solo albums, indie folkstress Maria Taylor left behind the cozy confines of the Omaha, NE, music scene for the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. A 2008 EP, “Savannah Drive,” hinted that Taylor’s music was moving in a more stripped-down, acoustic direction, but that turned about to be a red herring; her latest, LadyLuck, is full of pop swagger and ambitious arrangements.

Taylor worked with four different producers on LadyLuck —including Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes fame, L.A. singer/songwriter Nik Freitas, Now It’s Overhead’s Andy LeMaster and Lukas Burton, a former Dido producer—and the variety suits her well, allowing most of these songs to crawl out from under the warm blanket of her pretty but often drowsy vocals.

Strings buoy Taylor’s bittersweet melodies on “Time Lapse Lifeline” and the backstage romance “Broad Daylight,” while nicely layered keyboards and background vocals give “It’s Time” and “100,000 Times” just the right amount of modern pop polish. L.A. seems to suit Taylor just fine, making “LadyLuck” her most fully realized effort to date.

Taylor and LeMaster co-wrote the very R.E.M.-ish album closer “Cartoons and Forever Plans” with Michael Stipe, who also contributes background vocals.

Maria Taylor performs live on the Morning Becomes Eclectic Radio Program Tuesday morning. The show can be heard live beginning at 9AM PST/Noon EST on www.kcrw.com or in the Los Angeles area on KCRW 89.9 FM. Also link to the show via our sidebar under Bosco Radio: Music

Review By Andy Hermann, Metromix