Maria Taylor - Overlook

Maria Taylor - A decade after the debut of indie dream/pop duo Azure Ray (with Orenda Fink), Alabama-bred singer/songwriter returns after a bout of writer's block (and last year's Azure Ray reunion album) with her fourth solo project..."terrific albums...that bleed with wistful beauty" says NPR // Release: Overlook (August 16, Saddle Creek) // Sounds like: handling the production herself, the striking personal and acoustic intimacy that marked 2009's Lady Luck has been pretty much deep-sixed for a bolder, full-bodied sound...while there's guaranteed melancholic balladry to be had, lead single "In A Bad Way" sways with a sly rock swagger as the right-hook punch of the guitar solo counters the lushly orchestrated, wide-screen landscape // Quote: ""I only know how to write songs the same way I’ve always written them. So I feel like every record is just a reflection of where I am in my life, and that’s pretty much how they differ. Then I try with each record to do something a little different production-wise" // What we like: Taylor says she's trying to bring a more raw and immediate tone to the album along with a sound that reflects the local Alabama music scene...Overlook promises Taylor's remarkable diversity, from the brisk and edgy pop of "Matador" and album opener "Masterplan" to the nocturnal, contemplative "Happenstance"...

Maria Taylor - "In A Bad Way" (from the album Overlook)