British blues rocker Joanne Shaw Taylor has released her latest album, “Reckless Heart,” via Silvertone Records. The concept and inspiration behind a lot of the songwriting is the make-up and break-up of a relationship.
Taylor has been around for a bit. She was recognized by Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) at age 16, and has been releasing albums over the past decade ever since, garnering praise from Rolling Stone, Parade, Glide Magazine and more.
She can sing and play, for sure. Vocals are very silvery throughout, raspy. There’s grit. The guitar playing is the same way — there’s a toughness and snarl to it.
Title track “Reckless Heart” has a lot of Bonnie Raitt in it, with the bluesy moodiness of it all. Nice driving beat, but still keeping things back to build tension. Lead radio single “The Best Thing” is definitely a major key, up tempo, singalong. It’s reminiscent of the vibe of Amy Winehouse’s rendition of “Valerie.”
“Bad Love” has a lot of energy, and is riffing away. Good blues rocking! “I’m Only Lonely” is our first real ballad… kinda “Mazzy Star” – like with the atmospheric instrumentation, but with Taylor’s smoky, yet vulnerable vocals.
“Creepin’ ” is more riff rock, and it’s good! The sequencing is working for me a lot on this album. “Break My Heart Anyway” has a very Jimmy Page-esque, Led Zeppelin III-era style of acoustic guitar playing to it. Really cool song.
I’m very impressed with this record. I give it 4.5 out of 5 whiskey shots. It’s well done. Joanna Shaw Taylor is gonna be around for awhile, and that’s definitely a good thing.
— Jon Siembieda
- Joanne Shaw Taylor
‘Reckless Heart’
Label: Silvertone Records
Release: May 17, 2019
