Julian Taylor Band — Desert Star
The Julian Taylor Band are based in Toronto, Canada built around a collective of versatile musicians and friendships. The album is named after a flower that grows in some of the planet’s harshest terrain as West Indian and Indigenous Canadian frontman Julian Taylor felt that it was the perfect symbol for his music.
The listener is presented with no less than twenty-two tracks starting with ‘Just A Little Bit’ with its sunshine horns that put a smile on your face and smooth lead vocal. The catchy chorus on ‘Bobbi Champagne’ will become a live favourite and the emotional ‘Say Goodnight’ is a soft lullaby that showcases the talented songwriters on this album.
‘Pick You Up’ reminds this scribe of Jason Mraz and Newton Faulkner with drummer Jeremy Elliott and bassist Jarrod Ross keeping the rhythm tight. The neo-soul stylings from ‘Coke Bottle Candy’ is a welcome inclusion and I wonder if Taylor is aware of Mayer Hawthorne as I would love to hear that collaboration! The latest single ‘Set Me Free’ is lyrically appropriate during the global pandemic as the ideas of togetherness and love shine.
Closer ‘In My Life’ features Joey Landreth (solo artist and member of Bros Landreth) providing slide guitar on this punchy rock offering as Taylor’s eerie hypnotic voice crying out.
Overall, ‘Desert Star’ is a smorgasbord of funk, blues, soul, rock and even includes elements of hip-hop to create a powerful and exciting body of work that I cannot wait to experience in a live setting.
Julian Taylor Band’s new album ‘Desert Star’ is out now on Aporia Records. For more information visit www.aporia-records.com
Jo Harrop – Beautiful Fools (Single)
Jazz vocalist and songwriter Jo Harrop will release her new album ‘ The Path Of A Tear’ in June 2024. The first single to be taken from the album is called ‘Beautiful Fools’.
Joanne Shaw Taylor – All The Way From America (Single)
British blues-rock artist Joanne Shaw Taylor has had a steady stream of single releases in 2023 “Sweet ‘Lil Lies’, “Black Magic” and “Wild Love” through Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records.
RHODES – Toothpaste (Single)
Hertfordshire-raised, London-based singer/songwriter RHODES first captured everyone’s attention with a series of EPs leading up to the release of his acclaimed 2015 debut album Wishes (via Sony Music).
Phoenix Lake – Fractured Wings (Single)
Phoenix Lake are a melodic metal four-piece from Nottingham, United Kingdom and they have recently released their new single ‘Fractured Wings’.
Steve Balsamo – Snow Angels (Single)
Vocalist and musician Steve Balsamo has been very busy in 2023 with not only his his solo music and collaborative projects but also his work with Grand Ambition at the Swansea Grand Theatre in Swansea, South Wales.
