'Blues at The Bar' is a showcase of Deola Taylor's glowing potential [EP Review]
Blues At The Bar is a beautiful EP that showcases Deola Taylor's talent as well as how his talent isn't fully formed yet. The way he delivers his lyrics lacks smoothness sometimes.
'Blues at The Bar' is a showcase of Deola Taylor's glowing potential. (DeolaTaylor)
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Deola Taylor is an artist from Ondo town in Ondo State - hence the 'Small Boy From A Small Town' title of his two EPs so far. But if anything, Deola Taylor sounds like a bridge between Yoruba Frank Ocean in 2011, Daramola and a dash of Tay Iwar. To the bone, he's an R&B artist and his music is organic albeit feeling like imported palm oil.
If his 2018 EP, Small Boy From A Small Town was wide-eyed dreaming, laced with appreciation and love-themed music, Blues At The Bar depicts a young man who has started seeing the unsavoury parts of life in love and in motion. 'Duro Na' is one of the best R&B songs this writer has played in 2020 (so far).
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With a underlay of electronic guitar running rings around this beat like a Citizen Cope song, Taylor's lyric tenor vocals dominate this thrill of chase. Yes, a beautiful woman is involved and that bridge is just beautiful. Well, it didn't take long before 'fear women' became a thing as the woman from 'Duro Na' seemingly broke Taylor on, 'Ripped My Heart.'
If her 'H-Factor' wasn't so pronounced, this writer might have accepted her ego. The music is good, but in the mean time, get your demon on, Deola Taylor. 'Dele' sounds like what Mosa and Oscar could have cooked up for TY Bello and Simi. It seems Taylor hasn't learned his lesson from heartbreak - he still wants love. E be things.
'Ready' is cut straight from 80's Electro-pop and New Jack Swing. Tha underlying guitar is beautifully conscripted by pitch and it aided this song as Taylor enquires about the readiness of a woman to commit to him or their love or his proposal - whichever one, Deola Taylor sha wants to mekwe.
'Benedicta' is more pop and early 2000's Teen pop by design as Taylor sings to a woman. The songwriting on this song seems rough, but Taylor's vocals paper the cracks. 'Iyawo' feels like premium wedding music that could have used Eri-Ife.
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Blues At The Bar is a beautiful EP that showcases Deola Taylor's talent as well as how his talent isn't fully formed yet. The way he delivers his lyrics lacks smoothness sometimes.
That said, that tracklist could have been better sequenced. It has sonic cohesion, but the topical cohesion is problematic with the placement of 'Ripped My Heart.' This boy can sing though. E dey sing, abeg.
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