Nick Taylor from Austin delivers hearty track-by-track performances on his outstanding debut album “Not Alone”

The first thirty seconds of an album say a lot about the artist. It’s those inviting opening chords and the first introduction to the vocals that make a discerning listener stay or move on.

American singer and songwriter from Texas Nick Taylor’s Debut album Not alone falls into the latter category, where well-rehearsed, raw vocals, brooding candor and incisive songwriting keep you hooked for the entire ten songs. Taylor’s voice is somewhere in the Americana realm, but the lonely sound will also appeal to many fans of authentic country music like Chris Stapleton or George Strait.

Songs like “Dead Land Future” were inspired by his years of agricultural work in the Austin area. While pursuing his master’s degree, he worked on farms off and on, researching the loss of farmland in Texas. He also has experience in urban planning with several universities and communities in and around the area. All of these experiences feed into his songwriting and are reflected in the ten narrative tracks that explore depth and vivid storytelling.

Produced by William Gawley, mixed and engineered by Bryce Roberts, mastered by Mike Monseur, and A&Red by Michelle Robertson, the album was recorded at OmniSound Studios in Nashville and features the cream of that city’s session personnel – drummer Wayne Killius, bassist Dave Francis, acoustic guitarist Pat McGrath, David Flint on electric, baritone and acoustic guitars, and mandolin, Chris Nole on piano and keyboards, Deanie Richardson on fiddle, James Paul Mitchell on pedal steel guitar and dobro, and Billy Thomas on backing vocals.

He currently lives in Austin, Texas, and was fascinated by music as a child. “I was too young to remember any of it, but my mom told me,” he muses. “My first musical memory is from 5th grade, when a local high school band performed for us in the school gym. It was the first time I had heard of such an ensemble, and I decided right then and there that I had to be a part of it. Throughout middle and high school, I pursued my passion and discovered jazz and the joy of singing. I later studied jazz in college, but eventually decided it wasn’t for me, so I dropped out of the jazz program and started teaching myself guitar.”

He began his first attempts at songwriting when he was 18, but he says he didn’t finish his first song until he was 25. “It took a while, but it gave me a lot of time to find my voice, explore different styles of music and reconnect with the country music I grew up with.”

These formative influences varied over the years, from early country icons like Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline and Kris Kristofferson to Led Zeppelin. Later, his tastes expanded to include Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, Leonard Cohen and finally a number of contemporary artists – including Jason Isbell, Nathaniel Ratliff and Hurray for the Riff Raff. These influences shine and are authentically rendered on “Not Alone,” where Taylor proves that you don’t have to dress up to be true Americana.

Taylor recently shared Slide a track-by-track breakdown of each song on Not alonewhich gives us a reason to listen to the album again or make it one of your must-have audiobooks during the holiday week.

Not alone (about the album) – I decided to title the album Not alone for a number of reasons. Ultimately it’s the opening track, “Dogs,” but it goes beyond that. I write my songs in the hope that they can connect with listeners, whether through the lyrics or the composition, and I wanted to make sure the title conveyed that.

“Dogs” – One of the first compositions I wrote for the album, it’s personal and cathartic, a reflection of the anxiety that is an ongoing part of my personality. Sometimes it gets particularly overwhelming, and that’s how this song came about. It speaks of insecurity – how it manifests itself, how it’s perceived by others, and how it affects those around us. When we went into the studio to record it, it just came alive. It was important to me to get it out into the world. It’s the song that inspired the album title Not alonebut more importantly, it tackles issues that society tends to dismiss – especially when it comes to issues of mental health, uncertainty and stability. It calls for understanding and in that respect, I hope it helps anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation to feel less alone.

“Future Past” – “Futures Past” is a song about the passage of time and the perception of progress. I often find myself looking back at my life so far and feeling like nothing has changed. I’m still here, laying in bed staring at the ceiling, even though so much has happened. I wrote this song as a sort of sanity check for myself, reviewing different parts of my life only to find that they have happened and that I have made some sort of progress or moved in a certain direction, even though it may feel like I haven’t.

“3 a.m. on the highway” – “3am on the Interstate” is a story about lost love and the realization of that loss. I spent a lot of time driving around Texas highways in the middle of the night chasing love while in college, and I wanted to capture that feeling in a song. The story in the song is about someone chasing a past love from another life and struggling to stay in the present instead of trying to live a life that is already over. In that sense, I think it’s about more than just love and relationships.

“Dead Land of the Future” – This song was inspired by the agricultural work I did in the Austin area for a few years. I worked on farms on and off while also getting my master’s degree, which included studying the loss of farmland in Texas. This song kind of blends those two experiences. The work environment on a farm was notoriously unhealthy, and I’ve been wanting to write about it for a while but wasn’t sure how to go about it, so I was really happy when I finally put something together for this song.

“Get clear” – It’s about persevering in the face of loss. The story is about a woman who finds love in the middle of the desert, starts a family and very soon after loses her love. This song is an answer to the question: “Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?”

“Kentucky Girl“ – I wrote this song for my wife. When we first met, I fell in love with her almost immediately. I was hesitant about telling her how I felt about her so early in our relationship, so I wrote a song about it. As it turns out, she felt the same way; we’ve been married for almost a year now.

“Heart on the run” – I’m a pretty stubborn person, it runs in my family. Quite often I need help and don’t want to ask for it. This song is the compromise I found for myself. In a few words, the song can be translated as follows: “I’m fine, but with your help I could be better.”

“Broken souls“Sometimes relationships are full of passion but are unhealthy for both parties. This song is about two people who are stuck in a relationship that is on and off and bad for both of them, but neither of them can seem to get out of it. It was really fun recording this song with the band, especially the transition between the introduction and the rest of the song.”

“Bring you home” – This song is a message to a friend and to anyone who feels trapped and needs a friend. Sometimes a song has to speak for itself and I think this is one of those songs.

“Songs about fame” – This song started with the idea of ​​a delivery driver working late at night/early in the morning, people I used to work with and the idea that hard work pays off in the end. It describes a situation where someone who has worked hard for years constantly hears these songs on the radio that talk about glory at the end and wonders when and if they will ever get there. I think it’s a simple song but something that I and many others often think about as we trudge through our respective paths through life, some more than others. Musically it was a song that made me feel very free, I often get lost in this song when performing it and so it holds a special place for me in that respect because isn’t music supposed to make you feel free in some way or another?

““Lover’s Dream” (bonus track) -I wrote this song in the middle of the night, in a storm, with no electricity, in the dark. I wrote the whole thing spontaneously as it came to me and I really liked it. Then I fell asleep, woke up in the morning and realized I had written absolutely none of it down. I still don’t know how much of the current version was in the “first draft”, but I rewrote it immediately while it was still fresh in my mind and this is the result. I wanted it to be a kind of confession to a lover, confessing all self-doubts and self-perceived weaknesses, but ultimately a love that is strong and abiding.