Customer Reviews

11:11

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Maria Taylor is best known as half of the duet Azure Ray, and has lent her sleepy, sweet vocal talents to bands and artists as acclaimed as Bright Eyes and Moby.

But it was only a matter of time before Taylor (and her musical partner Orenda Fink too) tried her hand at some solo work. That's where her solo debut, the ambiguously named "11:11," comes into play: A warm, melancholy slice of ethereal pop music.

It opens with the ethereal "Leap Year," where slightly disjointed poetic lyrics mingle with smooth strings, piano, and Taylor's throaty, soft voice. "Save my money/For that plane ride/Horn of plenty/Heavy sunlight/Autumn's bounty/Bread and red wine/In a hurry/But there's so much time/I will wait for you..." It sets the mood for most of the songs to come, and it's by no means disappointing.

From there on, Taylor tries her hand at all kinds of pop music, which is never an easy thing to do, especially since most solo artists try to distance themselves from their band work. Some of the songs are mellow folk ballads, and that sound continues through to the middle of "11:11." Then we strike: "One For the Shareholder," a slow-burning dance number with fizzy little synth over a shimmying downbeat.

It's not a bad song; in fact, it almost straddles the divide between her melancholy pop and dancepop. But it comes up a little short. That song sticks out like a bit of a sore thumb, because then Taylor switches gears, back to the mellow folk-pop sound of before. It carries over into the delicate closer "Hitched."

Normally experimentation like that is the kiss of death for an artist. But Taylor carries it off by keeping constant factors in her music, like the swirling shoegazer guitars, touches of synth, piano, and melancholy lyrics that make you imagine summer and autumn in a college town, with friends you haven't seen for awhile.

Without straying too far from the folk-pop sound that people expect from her, Maria Taylor creates a unique, intimate little solo album. Pretty, sweet and wistful.

I tuned into "Morning Becomes Eclectic" on KCRW to listen to Maria Taylor's live session in May. I had never heard of Azure Ray before but I had heard her new song "Leap Year" a couple of times and I liked it so I thought it would give me a good chance to discover some of her other material. After the first minute of her session opener, "Xanax", I was nearly floored. It's a slow paced, confessional anthem with dreamy, swirling guitars vaguely reminding me of dreampop band Slowdive of all things. I bought the album mostly for that song and "Leap Year". So I was even more surprised when the rest of the songs were nothing like "Xanax" but were more of an alt-country flavor. "Birmingham 1982" tries to capture the simplicity of childhood and innocence, "Two of Those Too" is a gentle reminiscence of her move to Athens GA., "Song Beneath The Song" is a steady chugging pop number that in a perfect world would be radio hit. And "One For The Shareholder" is a quirky (for this album) dance-pop number that at first seems out of place but somehow after a while fits right in and I find myself looking forward to hearing it in the middle of the album.And, for me at least, "Leap Year" is THE perfect summer song, the one to listen to with the windows rolled down on your way to the softball game.

This album is destined to please fans of good songwriting and delicate singing, a simple album telling stories that many can relate to.

I saw Maria (and her gorgeous sister Kate) at the Knitting Factory last month when she opened for Ben Lee. I told her after the show, "as soon as your album comes out, I'm buying it." She was very gracious and true to my word, I got it from Amazon the day after it came out.
This is one of the best albums I have heard in a long time. If you are a fan of Conor's ("Bright Eyes") you will love this album too! My favorite songs are probably "Leap Year", "Nature Song", "Lighthouse", "Xanax", and "Speak Easy".
If you are considering buying this album, stop considering and just buy it. you won't regret it, this album is top quality. maria taylor's lulling vocals and genuine lyrics are an angelic blessing. my real question is..what is 11/11 mean?

Do you guys remember when At the Drive-in split? And then there was Sparta and the Mars Volta? And even if you weren't in on the drama, it was pretty clear what happened.

The sparta dude was having a lot of fun in at the drive-in.

The mars volta dudes wanted to push things forward.

Then Sparta is a little bit of popular, but MarsVolta is the one that gets all the respect. Because, bascially, Sparta is just At The Drive-in without the 'fros and the creative spark.

That's kind of how this thing was...but:

Azure Ray's hiatus is totally amicable.

Maria Taylor is just...so...like-able.

And the direction she takes is just so...touching.

In an interview, she says something along the lines of "...my entire life has always been based on me and somebody else..." and here she is, on this CD, same woman, same life...but alone. And it's about how she's both inspired and scared by this. And she should be. It's a big step, especially for the quintessential embodiment of her former bands sound-- a breathy vulnerable sounding voice, accompanied by spare instrumentation that provides little cover for deeply personal and confessional lyrics.

It's mean to compare Orenda and Maria competitively, but it's hard not to do. Throughout Azure Ray's career, one could listen closely and pick out their subtle differences and respective talents. Orenda's domain was her command over more complex lyric structures and a flair for darker,more innovative instrumentation. And Maria always wrote the more conventional and simpler songs, but with an undeniable, but undefinable allure that stemmed from, but transcended mere catchiness.

She keeps it up with this release, but she's added a backup band and some nice studio touches that a bigger budget and good friends gets you. But what makes this album powerful is that its not about "look how far our production has come in the past 10 years," the songs are still written from the same heart that her Azure Ray songs came from.

There are minor downfalls that she has carried over from her past career as well, however. I find myself cringing at her occasional rhyming dictionary couplets ("there was a time when my heart was aching, yes there was the day i swore it was breaking") and in general, she is not as confident a guitarist as Orenda. But because of the kind of person Maria Taylor portrays herself, in interviews and lyrics, these shortcomings only seem to add to the character she has made herself into. Here she is: she is going to tell you about something the best way she knows how, and she is going to tell you about it how it comes to her. Yes, there is something trite about an achey, breaky heart, but if that's what you have, why pretend you don't?

And that's what makes all these songs so touching. The anxiety described through seemingly silly fears in the aptly named "Xanax"; the ruminations on marriage "Hitched" (more touching still, when one considers Orenda Fink has reached a turning point in her life, musically and socially, as she marries long time friend Todd Baechle while Maria continues plugging away at the same old song); and the absolutely heartbreaking line "I will wait for you...but please come soon," told in that spare, almost-unpoetic-but-ultimately-more moving-than-any-poetry-can-be, style that Maria is the best at; make this CD very familiar, yet very worthwhile.

This CD is a natural progression from what Maria Taylor was doing in Azure Ray, and for that it's really, really great. Orenda wins the ambition award, but Maria Taylor delivers on a solid memorable album.

Maria Taylor, one half of the duo 'Azure Ray', has produced a welcome and charming creation in 11:11.

With the exception of two songs, 'Nature Song' and 'One for the Shareholder', all songs are the product of Maria's mind and heart. Nobody can tell you what to like but objectively most of us can spot bad or problemed songs. Hey most of us, save your eyes and ears, you have entered a spot free zone. There exists nothing but the highest quality soaked through and through this collection proving that Maria is nothing short of an amazing songsmith.

As for her voice I've seen it called 'soulful'. I think that's right on the money. Listen to 'hitched', for example, and challenge yourself not to be overcome a bit by the surge of yearning that travels the length of your spine. The song that will probably reach out to the most people on this CD is 'Song Beneath the Song'. It is, at the time of this writing, still available for viewing here:

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/guide/hd/

We often forget how much soul can be carried by the voice of a child. The spirit of innocence, it's loss, and the purity of emotion in any of it's hues. Maria's voice is somehow that and more. She is the whisper of charm so fragile one might fear to touch it and a moment later that same sound weaves it's way into a current so strong the listener might turn and wonder if it is not they who are the fragile one. And, as most know, she never has to scream, nor does she, to make any of it work.

Production quality, recording, playing, mixing and mastering, are exceptional. Even in the early days of 'Azure Ray' the mixing was top notch The thread of that quality has just gotten stronger and trascends into this solo project.

Any CD that contains at least a couple of songs worth it's full merit is worthy of praise. Here you will find far more. Maria Taylor's 11:11 is 5 by 5 and five star worthy.

I am highly entertained Maria! Bravo!

-Frank Gualtier

After being a fan of Azure Ray for two years, I almost jumped out of my seat when I found out Maria's solo album was coming out in May. There is such a dearth of great female singers these days, but Maria more than makes up for it with 11:11.

See, Maria Taylor doesn't belt. People say her voice is diluted by all the musical instruments, that her music puts you to sleep. But Maria Taylor actually SINGS - hard for most people to believe. Her dulcet tones creep over you, especially after a long day. It's so soothing - lullaby music with exceptional lyrics. I can't deny Maria's musical talent - not only does she sing, she plays drums, guitar, keyboards and god knows what else.

11:11 is sweet, caressing and - in the case of "One For the Shareholder" - addictive and makes your body itch. She brings you back to your childhood memories with the wistful "Birmingham 1982" and "Light House" and tells a dreamy love story with "Hitched!" She opens her heart to you with "Xanax", a therapeutic song she wrote to help her deal with her anxiety. "Two Of Those Two" takes you into the past of a simpler life, and is a highlight with an acoustic guitar and simple keyboards. My personal favourite is "Speak Easy", a rather cliched, wonderfully sappy song that's just too cute for words with an infectious violin solo. The album also includes "Song Beneath the Song", with backing vocals by Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst.

Produced by music engineering giants Mike Mogis and Andy LeMaster, 11:11 is a beautiful piece of work. Maria's dreamy, graceful voice is only enhanced by the music she and her bandmates create, and her genre spans from electronic pop to folk. 11:11 is a classic. You'll be listening to it over and over and over.

I don't want to overstate this or seem overly precious, but I sometimes feel as though my soul aches for this sort of music.

Maria Taylor (one half of the band Azure Ray) has delivered a beautiful, graceful, haunting and understated set of songs in the form of her first solo album entitled 11:11. Songs like the hypnotic 'Leap Year' are immediately arresting, in fact just about everything here won me over on the first play, though 'Nature Song', 'Light House', 'Xanax' and 'Birmingham 1982' in particular, all shimmer with heart-bursting beauty.

Taylor's luminous vocals are most reminiscent of Sarah McLachlan - which in my book at least, is a very, very good thing. I'm also reminded of other great artists like Gemma Hayes, Beth Orton and The Sundays.

It's very easy to fall completely under the spell of this music - to the point where you can forget just how clever and insightful the lyrics are too.

11:11 is, in a word - stunning.

Maria Taylor is best known as half of the duet Azure Ray, and has lent her sleepy, sweet vocal talents to bands and artists as acclaimed as Bright Eyes and Moby.

But it was only a matter of time before Taylor (and her musical partner Orenda Fink too) tried her hand at some solo work. That's where her solo debut, the ambiguously named "11:11," comes into play: A warm, melancholy slice of ethereal pop music.

It opens with the ethereal "Leap Year," where slightly disjointed poetic lyrics mingle with smooth strings, piano, and Taylor's throaty, soft voice. "Save my money/For that plane ride/Horn of plenty/Heavy sunlight/Autumn's bounty/Bread and red wine/In a hurry/But there's so much time/I will wait for you..." It sets the mood for most of the songs to come, and it's by no means disappointing.

From there on, Taylor tries her hand at all kinds of pop music, which is never an easy thing to do, especially since most solo artists try to distance themselves from their band work. Some of the songs are mellow folk ballads, and that sound continues through to the middle of "11:11." Then we strike: "One For the Shareholder," a slow-burning dance number with fizzy little synth over a shimmying downbeat.

It's not a bad song; in fact, it almost straddles the divide between her melancholy pop and dancepop. But it comes up a little short. That song sticks out like a bit of a sore thumb, because then Taylor switches gears, back to the mellow folk-pop sound of before. It carries over into the delicate closer "Hitched."

Normally experimentation like that is the kiss of death for an artist. But Taylor carries it off by keeping constant factors in her music, like the swirling shoegazer guitars, touches of synth, piano, and melancholy lyrics that make you imagine summer and autumn in a college town, with friends you haven't seen for awhile.

Without straying too far from the folk-pop sound that people expect from her, Maria Taylor creates a unique, intimate little solo album. Pretty, sweet and wistful.

...it's just as good as azure ray.

she writes songs with fantastic lyrics and beautiful melodies that pull emotions out of me that i forgot i had. 'leap year' is beautiful nostalgia, 'birmingham 1982' brims with childlike innocence, there's the sweeping chords of 'nature song' and the bittersweet reminiscence in 'two of those two.' she picks it up a notch with 'one for the shareholder' and reminds us all to let go with the modern poignancy of 'xanax'. i looooove it. it's one of those rare albums i always listen to from start to finish. good job maria!

This is a beautiful release from Maria Taylor... I think it is her first since taking break from Azure Ray. I love the writing in these songs and the melody and grace and subtle gravity of each track is just as wonderful as Azure Ray CDs.

Folks who can't get enough of Maria (and Orenda) should go back in time and visit Little Red Rocket CDs. I play the "Silver Girl" track about once a month to jump me out of any sort of sound lethargy.

I love good art... thank God for Maria (and Orenda).