Seraphina Lotkhamnga on October 18th, 2011

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Although Maria Taylor had been busy touring as one-half of duo Azure Ray last year in support of their album “Drawing Down the Moon” (after a six-year hiatus), the singer-songwriter happily went head first into writing a new solo record after suffering from writer’s block the entire year before. The self-produced “Overlook” rejuvenates the grace her warm vocals have always been able to guarantee, but as Taylor pieced a collection of songs about growing older, her songwriting also relayed a new maturity. The search to find clarity within issues of becoming more of an adult everyday can be heard in the strutting syncopation of “Matador,” the sunny guitars of “Bad Idea” and the grooves of  “In a Bad Way.” Lap steel, mandolin, banjo and organ also help flesh out this soundtrack to a new breakthrough.

||| Download: “Matador”

||| Also: Grab “Bad Idea?” and stream “In a Bad Way” after the jump.

||| Live: Maria Taylor plays Thursday at the Echo.

Photo by Jason Hamric