By Susie Salva
Southern California native, twenty-one year old, songstress Angel Taylor has just released her debut CD, “Love Travels,” on Aware/Columbia Records. This album is fresh, breezy, pop music straight from the heart. Taylor can best be compared to that of Norah Jones meets Alicia Keys with a twist of Ingrid Michaelson. The 12 tracks on “Love Travels,” are more than just personal missives that Angel Taylor has set to music, they are living and breathing experiences that all of us have shared. “Anyone who has ever wanted to be loved very deeply by someone, but hasn’t, will totally be able to grab hold of these songs,” says Taylor. “That’s what this album is about – wanting it so bad, not having it, and wondering why…It’s a lot of questions.”
And while Taylor doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, there’ no escaping how good it feels to get engulfed by her insecurities, romanced by her vulnerability, and swooned by her tender lyrics and swaying melodies. Angel Taylor is writing about the most pure, untainted of experiences that too often devour our hopeless romantic buried in us all.
“Chai Tea Latte,” opens the album like the songbirds mating call, comparing a multi-cultural love to that of her favorite Starbucks drink and romanticizing the perfect date in a gently stirred ballad. Taylor’s lyrics pack a wisdom that defies her years, finding the simplest, most accessible way to describe life’s most confusing emotions. Packing a melodic sensibility that is undeniable and engaging, “Like You Do,” and “Make Me Believe,” follow down more traditional pop avenues the former an uptempo, peppy track and the ladder with a reggae back beat. “Maple Tree,” is Angel at her most vulnerable, a lush canopy of music cloaking her bared soul. At opposite ends of Taylor’s musical spectrum is “Spinning Wheel,” the track that produced the titled of the album pairs with her piano ballad offering the jarring landscape for personal insecurities.
“Don’t Forget Me In Time,” is one of the stronger songs with engaging lyrics, catchy chorus and engaging melodies.
Co-written with her sister Ebony, “Epiphany,” is a jazzy interlude, and “It’s Easy,” features the songwriter in all her understated, stripped-down glory.
Just as spectacular as the music, is the young woman who crafts it. Taylor is one of music’s emerging voices for those of us seeking substance amidst the overblown style of today’s pop culture. A passionate blend of youthful innocence, soulful essence and spiritual center, Angel Taylor’s “Love Travels,” debut explores her longing for love and lust for life colored by dashes of hope. Angel Taylor was recently featured on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. For more on Angel Taylor please go to www.angeltayloronline.com or www.myspace.com/angeltaylor
