Hudson Taylor

Battles /  by E

The ever present guitar harmony pulls your attention immediately before giving way and sharing the stage with a wonderfully prominent, and slightly vengeful, piano riff that falls steadily in line with lyrics "I will lift her love and I'll break your spirit, I will dig a hole and I'll throw you in it".

The track features the brother's vocal harmonies, sans instruments, only in fleeting moments, but does so with an ease that just feels natural, letting the chorus unwind with "if we're all just cynics come undone" sung acapella before a hurried guitar riff picks it back up to urge the song forward.

A fantastically powerful bridge ties the song together with a guitar riff that grows more persistent as it continues, a pretty piano riff that steadily gains strength throughout, and a drum rhythm that fails to let up; all while great lyrics "we are tied to the truth, the tie that binds me to you, and I'm acting on my words, with all that I have heard, with honesty in mind, you'll find, that I'm not the lie see the truth in my eyes" are trotted out over an impossibly catchy melody.

Their harmonies, both vocal and guitar, are flawless; the melody is so catchy it will be in your head for days; the rhythm's relentless; and the lyrics are as perfectly unpretentious and emotional as ever.

Hudson Taylor's "Battles" will be released tomorrow (June 15) and is available for pre-order now. Can't wait a few hours to have this repeating on your iPod? Grab the recording originally released on their Chasing Rubies EP now.

"Battles" Hudson Taylor

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Try /  by E

As previously stated (so, so many times), this duo is amazing. Their chord progressions build slowly but always offer a full sound by the time the first round of the chorus swings around, their vocal harmonies are the most satisfying of any sibling group available right now, and nothing can beat the pleadingly honest lyrics that these guys so effortlessly put forth in each of their tracks.

While the music is fantastic and the vocals are never less than great, the lyrics make the song worth playing on repeat, because lines like "if you find yourself at a loss try to work out where you've been, all the shiny coins you've tossed are laid out in the street, and you wish you'd never agreed to open up your heart again", "when you're searching for a home and it's not where you left it, you really want to take control but you're scared to suggest it, when you wanna ask for more but you know you'll get refused again", "when the birds fall from your sky and life is clipping your wings, it steals a glint from your eye, you're afraid of what you might see, you're searching around for your dreams and think you'll never fly again" state the complexities of everyday life with such articulate ease that it's easy to get sucked into the pleading repetition of "try letting go the things you lost, the lines you crossed" and "try dreaming, try forgetting, try finding someone you can truly let in" which basically state that you should never give up, because it will always get better. 

The lyrics are sweet, that bridge which relies on nothing more than two acoustic guitars is frisson inducing, and if you haven't already found yourself completely addicted to this duo's sound, head to the websites below and start falling now, because every track is just as great as this one. 

"Try" Hudson Taylor

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2/15 /  by E

Listen to the monthly playlist to hear good music from some of the artists/bands you should be paying attention to this month. 

"Morning Sun" Strange Talk

"Luck" American Authors

"Weapons" Hudson Taylor

"Bridges" Broods

"Synesthesia" Chuckie Campbell

"True North" Eric Zayne

"Happy Alone" Saintseneca

"Good Guy" Lakefield

"Past Life" Lost In The Trees

"Don't Say Goodnight" Hot Chelle Rae

"Fall Apart" PawnShop Kings

Give Me A Reason

" Runaway Dorothy

"Ready Set Go" Royal Tailor

"We Won't Go Home" The Colourist

"Hot Tonight" Tokyo Police Club

"On Our Way" The Royal Concept

Tiny Robots "Manolo Panic"

"Coming Home, Pt II" Skylar Grey

"Let the Night" Dirty Vegas

Weapons /  by E

Hudson Taylor's latest music video is just as desperate and haunted as the song itself (though through a much harsher lens, clearly).

The duo's sound is reminiscent of a modern day Everly Brothers; the only thing which stands against those solid guitar melodies are the brother's pure vocals which feature articulate lyric lines that scream of a tendency towards hopeless romantics ("put down your weapons, lets be defenseless, surrender your love and no more secrets" and "this is how it is when it all gets wild, you can hit me hard, hit me hard as you like, if only you could see it through my own two eyes, you could see the view from the other side"). 

It's truly fantastic and their sweet vocal melodies make it so very difficult to not get hooked on these tracks which start as soft indie folk melodies and always manage to build into a frenzied desperation by their end. 

Check out the latest video from the Irish duo below then head to the sites to find out more about the band. 

"Weapons" Hudson Taylor