I like mellow music, there’s just something about a song that has a calming effect, which is what the new album “Overlook” by Maria Taylor is. Maria Taylor has self-produced “Overlook”, making it her first time to do so, with 9 tracks on the album. Her music is labeled as being indie-rock, but I would call it more mellow-rock or soft-indie-rock. Whatever genre you want to call her music however, the sound she has produced on “Overlook” comes out with a clean, smart, and relaxing sound.

The songs on this album are all mellow, at times a little soft, with a hint of slowness to them, the end product are songs that showcase the talent of Maria Taylor. That talent is her voice, the way she has made the songs sound soft but with a powerful tone. It’s her voice that I first noticed when listening to the songs on “Overlook” and it’s because of her voice that I like the album and the songs. Maria Taylor does a wonderful job at creating a sound that allows the songs to be easily and quickly liked.

Though the vocals are the best part of the album, “Overlook” also features lyrics that are easy to understand, both in just being able to know what words she is saying as well as understanding the meaning of the song. This is one aspect that I reallylike about a song, being able to understand what’s being sun. I don’t care how it’s sung, screaming, speaking, or being a poem, as long as I can understand it and Maria Taylor is very easy to understand. One of the reasons the songs are easy to understand is because they are almost done in a poem like manner. However, the downside to “Overlook” is that there are moments in the song that could have used a little more emotion put in them. Maria Taylor does have a strong voice, the instruments are played well, and the lyrics have meaning, there were moments that sounded to me that she was singing the song but not feeling it. Because of this lack of feeling behind the songs I was not getting into them as much as I should have been. I can hear the talent that Maria Taylor has, it’s impossible to not to, but she needs to add to that talent by giving her songs a little more energy and emotion in them. When she does that, I think she will become one very talented and very liked musician.