The first single from the first full length album, "Have You Ever?I've Always" out summer 2021
Produced by Jake Ingalls (The Flaming Lips/Spaceface)
Mixed and Engineered by Calvin Lauber (Julien Baker) and Omar Yakar Jr (Local Natives,Warpaint)
Mastered by Mike Nolte - Eureka Mastering
Recorded in Memphis , TN at Young Avenue Sound
When asked to describe singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Taylor Cole and his band Tayls, folks familiar with them might start with their posi-vibing rock ’n’ pop sound, or their elaborate Flaming Lips-inspired stage shows. But as much as the project is about celebrating good times, they consistently use the music to explore a lot of challenging social and emotional terrain.
This summer, the group is set to release its debut full-length Have You Ever? I’ve Always. The first single from the record, “Scarlet Letter,” is a prime example of Tayls’ knack for presenting introspection as something to sing a grooving, horn-kissed anthem about. In a note that accompanies the track, Cole explains that the song came from a long struggle he had coping with the death of a close friend, and the shame that came with eventually feeling OK about not dying, too.
“For more than 10 years I wore this face, or at least thought I did — ‘Sad boi #1 , I don't care if I die now,’ ” writes Cole. “I don't know how true-to-self that actually was. … On one hand, yes I was very depressed and needed help, and didn't care if I lived past 30. On the other, I am usually a seeker of the exciting and happy. I tend to have a good attitude and thrill to exploring life. Maybe because she died I’m more thankful for my life, and also saddened by it. Duality stuff. Life and death stuff. My scarlet letter, my shame, my pride.
“This song shouts: ‘Why do I get to keep living while she doesn't get to? Me? This awful excuse for a human gets to live? While each day she becomes more and more my past and my distant memories. Is it OK that I seek out happiness? That I no longer want to die at an early age?’ For the sake of my own life and happiness, I sure hope I have learned to let myself live.”
Today, we’re very pleased to premiere the music video for the song, which you can check out above. In the piece, shots of the band playing a pre-pandemic blowout show are interspersed with Cole at a birthday dinner for himself, surrounded by cardboard cutouts of his bandmates. The set might remind longtime local-music heads of Tristen’s great “Matchstick Murder” video from 2009 — with more cake and less, y’know, death.
Tayls’ “Scarlet Letter” hits streaming services tomorrow — presave it on your favorite platform with this handy link. There isn’t an official release date yet for Have You Ever? I’ve Always, but you can follow Tayls via social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) for updates.
