Kim Taylor – Songs of Instruction

Posted by admin on March 16th, 2019

I was itching to come back to reviewing music for a while. Recently I’d been listening to some of the past artists I’d reviewed and seeing what they’d been. And it wasn’t long before that urge to review come to the fore.

I reviewed Kim back in 2006, with her then latest release, “I Feel Like a Fading Light”. I resisted the temptation to read the review, or catch up on Kim’s story and thought I would let me ears guide me.

The album opens with “All My Happiness” and I’m immediately at home with the finger picked guitar, reminiscent of the songs from Dylan, Simon or Taylor. “Maybe I Need More Time” follows and I immersed couldn’t wait to see what was yet to come.

While there’s beauty in Kim’s music, there’s also a sorrow, or maybe it’s more likely life’s experiences finding their voice

“The Long Line” was also a particularly stand out track, with the effortless slow burn and ethereal backing I get enough of.

The album closes to “The Last Redemption” and “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace”, ending the album on a much brighter, or should that be optimistic note. It’s hard not to feel like you’ve been part of a cathartic journey.

The only track that felt detached from the rest was “Pearly Gates”, which is still a great track, but the slight reverb on the vocals didn’t work for me.

There’s been three albums between this and the last album I reviewed of Kim’s, so I’ve missed out on a lot, but I couldn’t imagine a better album to come back to.

The ultimate test of any album is continual listening and I’ve already lost count on how many times I’ve played it.