Taylor Acorn – Survival In Motion

This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

Every now and then in our lives we will discover an artist that checks all of the boxes of our music interests. This happened to me this past Friday when I hit play on Survival In Motion, the debut album from Taylor Acorn. The powerhouse vocals, crisp songwriting, and the overall feeling of good vibes coming through the speakers washed over me from the opening notes all the way to the dramatic conclusion of the album. Taylor Acorn shared, “I feel like I’ve been waiting a lifetime to be able to say ‘I’m putting out a debut album’, but in all honesty I’m so glad I waited for as long as I have, I feel like I’ve finally found my sound — I’ve fallen in love with every single song in it’s own right, the writing process was truly something I’ll never forget — and to top it off I got to share the experience with my best friends and some of the most amazing and talented people I know. I’m not sure what will come next, but this chapter is something that I am so unbelievably proud of and I can’t wait to share it with everyone. I hope you love it and I hope you find peace in knowing that no matter what we go through, we are all walking representation of survival in motion and life is a gift no matter how crazy it can be.” Taylor Acorn has a voice that fits somewhere between the emotive vocals of Hayley Williams, the range of Kelly Clarkson, and the punk brashness of Charlotte Sands, while her warm delivery still feels refreshing and new.

The opener of the title track finds Taylor setting the scene as she sings cautiously in the first verse, “We all wake up in our little boxes / Different time zones, same problems / Fill our heads with something toxic / Sell our souls, turn a profit / Then pray to something way up high / Just to make it through the night / Another pill to ease my mind,” as she explodes into a rewarding chorus. The song features some great-sounding guitars that never drown out Taylor’s powerhouse vocals, and instead, complement her approach to the track. “Applause” follows in the sequencing with a steady beat and gradually builds up to the great hook of, “‘Cause now I’m right here on the floor full of tears in my eyes / While you’re out with your friends, God I hate how you’re fine / Played a wonderful show until you got me close enough / Damn you did a good job / Why don’t you stand for the applause.” Taylor showcases the vulnerability in her lyrics and matches it well with the tone of her vocals to bring out the intended emotions.

My personal favorite in the set comes in the form of one of the singles, “Greener,” that is a mid-tempo gem that features a well-crafted chorus similar to the style of Avril Lavigne. Taylor explains vividly on the chorus, “The grass is greener on the other side / Yeah, it looks even better than what I had in mind / Yeah, I could build a house and maybe paint it white / Now I see for miles and it’s all mine,” and she commands the song throughout. Other early standouts like “People Watching” feature a more somber tone to the guitars, while it still hits its intended target with relatable lyrics. “High Horse” closes out the front half of the record with a brash punk rock song about people stuck up in their ways. As Taylor Acorn puts it in the chorus, “Who made you so cavalier? Go head stay inside / I’ll keep on living out here / Pay no mind to all your hot takes and your trivial shit / In the big picture it’s irrelevant / Hope your high horse throws you into a ditch / Yeah, I can forgive but karma never forgets.” The song is pointed, yet clear in its overall execution.

The back half wastes little momentum from the front half as “Nervous System” features some crunchy guitars to provide the perfect landscape for Taylor to lay out her vocal attack. “Final Nail” is a speedy song about one-sided relationships not worth her time, as she laments on the second verse of, “I’ll make sure I’m the one, love, to read your eulogy / I promise you that I won’t leave out a single thing / How you lie, how you cheat / Didn’t call me for weeks / Now it’s my turn to speak.”

”Be Like You” finds Taylor looking back on her childhood as she reflects on how far she’s come in her life and it’s a great example of an artist telling a vivid story through their own music. “Homebody” goes further down the path of self-reflection, while she learns more about herself through her practice of self-discovery, while album closer “Birds Still Sing” ends the record on a hopeful note as she leaves the listener with the thought of, “Birds still sing on bad days / Flowers grow around graves / Not everyone stays but the real ones do / Our moon moves in phases / So give yourself a little grace / And if you look close where the cracks meet / We’re still blooming in concrete.” Taylor Acorn has crafted a stunning debut album that I feel will deeply connect with anyone who takes the time to absorb the music that comes through the speakers. She’s at her best when she trusts her musical instincts and lets the song take her on a journey of self-improvement and still finds a way to look on the bright side of things. It’s a lesson we can all learn from, and Survival In Motion truly is a special record that takes this to heart.

more

Not all embedded content is displayed here. You can view the original to see embedded videos and other embedded content.