Claire Anne Taylor
Elemental
Independent
One could make
many a comparison when it comes to Claire Anne Taylor’s voice – Janis Joplin,
Joni Mitchell, early Mia Dyson, all spring to mind and all are evident in
Taylor’s vocal delivery, but essentially, it’s hers and hers alone. Make no
mistake, it’s this voice which forms the foundation from which Taylor’s debut
grows. Husky, smokey, velvet and barbed, it’s an instrument in itself and it
commands your attention throughout the entirety of the record.
Recorded at Byron
Bay’s now defunct Studio 301, and incorporating a slew of the area’s finest
musicians, Elemental is definitely a strong debut. While Taylor will grow into
the songwriting side of things, musically these ten tracks pulse and throb with
an urgency – whether she’s singing of her family (As Strong As An Axe; My
Mother, My Mountain), lost love (I Blame The Moon), or whiskey-soaked sadness
(Devil), because of how she delivers these lyrics, you can’t help but get
caught up in the whirlwind the songs become as a result.
Trading in rootsy
folk for the most part, Elemental is strong and assured, the high point coming
with the title track which builds slowly, climaxing into an almost desperate
state.
Samuel J. Fell
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