Stranger To The Feeling
Signature Sounds, 2023
9/10
Listen to Stranger To The Feeling
The Canadian folk songwriter Taylor Ashton returns with this sophomore album, where a 4000 mile cross country roadtrip welcomes plenty of friends to the rich melodies.
“Strong Hands” starts the listen gentle, with Rachel Price’s gorgeous vocals and Michael Winograd’s well timed clarinet for the warm, expressive climate, and “Like A Movie” follows with Louis Cato’s crisp drums and Jacob Blumberg’s Wurlitzer and bass complementing the soulful delivery.
“Afterlife” lands in the middle and is quite bare, with David Moss’ stirring guitar amid the poetic singing, while “Green Moon” benefits from Cynthia Tolson’s absorbing strings and Nora Fox’s dreamy flute for the lush album highlight.
Approaching the end, “Skylight” is a cozy duet with Jacob Sharp that’s eloquent and harmonic, where both voices, light guitar and whistling make an indelible impression, and “Stranger” exits with Monica Martin’s sublime pipes and woodwinds from Alec Spiegelman for the dynamic finish.
A listen that touches on all the timeless sensibilities of folk music, Ashton plays clawhammer banjo, acoustic and electric guitar, string guitar and wurlitzer, and his mature and articulate wordplay certainly makes for a superb version of modern folk music.
Travels well with: Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves- Hurricane Clarice; Suz Slezak- Our Wings May Be Featherless