Maria Taylor

Lynn Teeter Flower - album review 10/11/07

To those of us under the spell of the Northeast, the flourishing of bands from the Saddle Creek music scene in Kansas, of all places, is at the same time mysterious, folksy and fresh. Maria Taylor is a siren central to this culture, having been a contributing member to Azure Ray and also lending vocals to the indie sensation Bright Eyes. In 2005, Taylor went solo with her first album 11:11 which paved the way for her latest Lynn Teeter Flower's success.

A combination of introspective soul searching sound and thoughtful, poignant lyrics, Taylor punctuates the melancholy with upbeat tracks like "Irish Goodbye" featuring a rap interlude by RIG recorded in one of the album's musicians' basements. Another factor in adding to Flower's depth is "The Ballad of Sean Foley" written by Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes and recorded and mixed at home, which flows seamlessly with the often varied production methods of each track. Whether in the studio or the crawlspace, the effect is polished, but approachable.

To say that this is Maria Taylor's solo album is a bit misleading. Her liner notes feature pictures of friends and colleagues who helped realize the album's finish. Handwritten sketches and song credits are anecdotal and not formal at all, illustrating a collective of musicians rather than a leading lady. That's the way we like to see music being made!

Maria Taylor plays at the Somerville Theatre on November 1st accompanied by any number of her cohorts.

Originally published in Spare Change News 10/11/07.