Artist: Maria Taylor
Title: 11:11
Label: Saddle Creek
Format: CD
Price: $13.50

Maria Taylor (half of the duo Azure Ray and 1/4 of Saddle Creek’s Now It’s Overhead) showcases herself as a solo artist on her debut cd "11:11" (Saddle Creek). In the first several bars one could almost imagine they are listening to a Coctaeu Twins record...until the whispery voice of Maria Taylor kicks in and the melodies and sugary vocals (fully intelligible) begin to swirl. It is truly divine. Roy handed me a two song sampler a few weeks ago, and it took me days to listen to song #2 because I couldn't stop listening to the first song..."Song Beneath The Song" (which features Conor Oberst on background vocals). After receiving the full length cd, I've hardly taken it out of the car stereo!! A roller coaster of near perfect dream pop!! Definitely could be my #1 of 2005!

"She doesn't warble with the glut of high-strung chart divas. With understated grace and aplomb, she writes the sort of classic, sad songs once favored by the first ladies of American songwriting. Her soulful melodies and honeyed vocals conjure those leaked from radios on nights we fell asleep in the back seats of our parents’ cars. Without leaning on nostalgia, Maria’s first solo full-length, 11:11, evokes the artistry of greats like Carole King, Laura Nyro and Rickie Lee Jones while it spans the spectrum from acoustic folk to electronic dream pop." - Saddle Creek

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