Sean Taylor is a songwriter, a superb one at that, and a multi-skilled musician as well. His songs are about what he sees, and he sees the realities of life everywhere he goes.
This latest collection of songs ranges from subjects as diverse as ‘Berlin’, the album opener and a love song to a city that he finds exciting, electric and vibrant, or ‘DWP’ about the travails of dealing with the Department of Work and Pensions as a self-employed musician, to ‘Invitation’ – a love song about the ‘why’ of attraction rather than just the act of love.
And so much else – Taylor sees and he writes it down, and he sees with an air of sympathy for the downtrodden and for the put upon.
Yet, it isn’t necessarily dark and depressing. He has a soft voice and a caring tone, he invites you to sympathise with those victims he sees.
Musically, he crosses boundaries and genres with ease – ‘DWP’ is a piano ballad while ‘Mary Jane’ has a folk beat and a beautiful mandolin as the lead. ‘Way Down In Enniscorthy’ is a boogie-woogie song in praise of a town in Wexford, famous for its Blues festivals.
I find that the more I listen to a Sean Taylor song, the more I get from his clever lyrics, but there is so much in the way he plays as well – he is a constant learning experience and a delight to just listen to.
