Happy Sunday and happy Easter to those that celebrate it! I’ve spent my day scrubbing down my house and, now that it’s done and I have the sun soaking in through my windows, I’m ready to check out some new music to form a soundtrack for the rest of my day with. Let’s start with the new ‘Neurotica’ EP from Taylor Curtis.
“The Good Word” instantly had calming vibes flowing throughout my house. Taylor’s voice is so silky smooth. The style of music, although a little bit more commercial than I tend to enjoy, is such a perfect indie-pop/ rock blend (among other influences that I’ll surely get into later). There’s no denying the energy in this track and, as the chorus hit, I couldn’t help but start tapping my toe to the infectious beat. I was completely struck by Taylor’s vocals as this song pumped through my speakers.
The infectious beat felt in “The Good Word” continues into “SOS”. There’s something a little bit lighter about the beat throughout this track but something a bit more emotional about the vocals which, again, had me absolutely stunned. You can feel the weight in the words that Taylor sings but the infectious beat keeps this track from becoming a heavy track. One of the many things that Taylor does so well and oh so effortlessly is conveying a sense of power without being over-powering or over-bearing. His music forces you to listen but it’s a gentle type of forceful which is absolutely beautiful.
“Glass House” has an almost grunge vibe to it that I instantly wanted more of. Although Taylor’s voice continues to be smooth, there’s just a little more edge to it. You also really hear the range of his voice as the words are drawn out and the notes dance in unnatural but natural to Taylor kind of ways. There are little intricacies throughout this track that made it an instant favorite of mine. The beat has a little bit of dirtiness to it. I’ll be honest, I heard a bit of this dirt and grit in “The Good Word” but I wrote it off. There’s no writing it off in this track and it adds even more emotion and power to an already staggering amount of both elements.
The first track I heard from Taylor was “Who Do You Think You Are?” and, although I liked it, I feared that it was just a little too commercial for me. Upon listening to this track today and as part of this EP as a whole, I realized how ridiculous that notion was. This track is probably the most powerful and most emotion-soaked track on the EP in all of the right ways. There’s a sense of pain in some phrases and then a sense of a bitter edge with the chorus that is unlike anything heard previously on this release.
‘Neurotica’ ends with “Ghost Town”. Another track that showcases Taylor’s vocals in all of the right ways, this song closes out this quick EP with a sense of that dirty power that is clearly a signature of Taylor’s. Although it ends the release perfectly, it also begs for you to dig into more of Taylor’s music because of the sheer power behind it. The guitar work in this final song had me in awe just like Taylor’s voice did on the first few tracks. I assume this brilliant guitar playing was a constant throughout this album but I was honestly so captivated by the vocals that I never really gave my ears permission to wander into the instrumentation. I know I have a lot more to do today and really need to do a few more reviews but I plan on listening to this EP again, and again, and probably again just to see what else I missed upon this first listen.
My Favorite Track(s): “Ghost Town”
For Fans Of: Smooth and Captivating Vocals; Heavy Beats With a Light Feel
Dance-ability: 6 out of 10
What My Cats Thought Of It: Artie laid in a patch of sun in the living room; Autumn slept upstairs
How Badly I Want To See This Performed Live: 7 out of 10
My Overall Rating: 7.3 out of 10
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