Taylor Young Band “Mercury Transit”

Taylor Young Band may be a new name to you, but it features a group of established musicians who have played with an impressive list of names. That includes Young Heart Attack, Polyphonic Spree and Deep Blue Something.

They promise to provide some 70’s power pop influenced sounds and they certainly deliver with songs like “Get Around”. Indeed, when you hear tracks like “Shine On Me” and “Blue Eyed” you can only think that they might have released this album a few months too early. In the perfect world, you’d be listening to this album in the warm afternoon sunshine whilst lying near a riverbank.

If that all sounds a bit too dreamlike, then perhaps this isn’t the album for you. The reality is that you need to put your cynicism aside and just enjoy the lush pop sound of tracks like “Make You Wanna Stay” and “Five Cents”. The band aren’t ashamed to celebrate their love of radio-friendly tunes, and nor should they be when it results in great songs “Daze Of The Week” and “Out Of My Mind”.

This is an easy going and relaxing album. In normal circumstances we might like a bit more of a crunch to our power pop. But, in a world full of fear and troubles, this provides a welcome respite. If you’re looking for something to ease away all your stresses, then this is the album for you.