The Rosie Taylor Project - This City Draws Maps
A charming, warm record, but one which could have worked better as a really strong EP rather than an eight track album.
The Rosie Taylor Project have produced a charming mini-album that displays a catalogue of indie pop featuring moments of real beauty, but lacking a consistency that will have people shouting from the roof tops about them just yet. The record opens with 'The Sun On My Right' - a strong hint at what is to follow. With jangling electric guitars and a wistful vocal performance, the track is warm and pleasant, and is lifted to a higher plane with the addition of uplifting trumpet and immaculate backing vocals courtesy of Sophie Barnes. Lead singer Johnny Davies almost whispers "it won't get much warmer/until we cross the border" as Barnes' harmonies soar.
This is followed by 'Anne Sexton', which ups the country influence with a reverb heavy lead guitar and features yet another indie pop staple - the xylophone. It's track three and last single 'A Good Cafe On George Street' by the time we hear drums on the album and it is certainly welcome. The track jangles by, clearly indebted to Belle & Sebastian, the use of trumpet reminiscent of their 1996 opus 'If You're Feeling Sinister'. Here Davies displays a good line in self-deprecation with lines such as "I begin to dream of you and I dancing... strange cos I can't dance at all" a near perfect distillation of unrequited lust and romance. 'Black And White Films' features some of the strongest lyrics on the album - it is a shame then that it is sandwiched between the two weakest tracks on the album: 'Reveries' and 'London Pleasures' which both revisit the folk guitar and trumpet formula of the opening tracks, but without the same quality.
There is time however for one more highlight. 'A Few Words Of Farewell' shows that even changing the pace with a fragile ballad can help break up the album somewhat. The track begins with Barnes and Davies singing together over minimal finger-picked acoustic guitar, and they are soon joined by a wall of mournful brass. Davies' voice benefits here from a more passionate delivery, for once not relying on the backing vocals for emotional impact.
It would also have been nice to hear Sophie Barnes - the undoubted star of the album - have the opportunity to take lead vocals on a track or two. There are real standout moments, but whether the album is varied enough to repay repeated listening months from now, time will tell. Nevertheless, 'This City Draws Maps' is a charming, warm record with much promise, but one which could have worked better as a really strong four track EP rather than an eight track mini album.
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