Sean Taylor "Love Against Death' - SGO

Another Austin alliance with Sean Taylor working with producer and player Mark Hallman on this latest album from an obviously accomplished player, singer and song-writer. The album is a close collaboration between Hallman and Taylor who between them lay down the essentials of each song with bass, drums, guitar, piano and harmonica. Taylor has a intimate breathy vocal style that draws the listener into his musical world. Taylor has spiced his own songs with interesting arrangements of Merle Travis' Sixteen Tons and Patrick Kavanagh's words for Raglan Road, and his version should attraction some attention from listeners in these parts who know this song well but not this particular performance. But his own songs are equally attractive with the ode to Neil Cassady having some likable pedal steel atmospherics from Kim Deschamps. Ballad Of A Happy Man underlines it's title and the French language opening line on the chorus with some subtle but life-affirming accordion and violin. Taylor is a enticing guitar player who make this songs all the more intimate through his playing. He also sings of the darker ends of the street with Coal Not Dole an effective denouncement of the Thatcher eras suppression of the miners, it has some inventive voice and guitar interaction at its heart. He has previously recorded here in Dublin but has obviously found the creative air in Austin beneficial to the making of music. That Sean Taylor is a talented artist is without question and he appears to be one more concerned with his art that with fleeting fame and it's trappings, but equally the more people that get to hear his music the more both parties will get from it, I think we will always take love against death.