Tayls – “Have You Ever?”

For the past six months, Tayls (aka Taylor Cole), has been releasing a trickle of new singles from the forthcoming full-length album Have You Ever? I’ve Always starting with “Scarlet Letter” back in January and most recently with the semi-title track “Have You Ever?.”

Cole says the song is “a love letter to my band and friends” and that sentiment shines through from start to finish. It’s an exuberant, high-flying song of optimism about being there for one another, through the good and bad. That may sound schmaltzy on paper but, honestly, we could all do a better job of telling our friends how much they mean to us and Tayls provides that conduit wonderfully.

The five other singles from the record embrace other emotional sentiments but are all equally raw expressions; a songwriting tactic that is all too rare. Musically, the forthcoming record is clearly going to embrace whatever instrumentation serves the moment best as Tayls does not seem to be beholden to any one style or genre. “Have You Ever?” is buoyant with gang vocals, delightful robo-call-and-response moments and wild drum explosions but the other singles feature 70s piano, fiddle, sharp acoustic guitars and a surprisingly effective kitchen sink approach. It’s premature to review the album before its release but these previews have certainly laid out an intriguing landscape!

The latest single is streaming everywhere and the album comes out July 31st.