Rosie Frater-Taylor
On My Mind
May 3, 2019
Reviewed by Helen Theophanous for Cabaret Scenes
Rosie Frater-Taylor’s exceptional debut album is refreshing and highly enjoyable. From the title track, “On My Mind,” it is clear that here is a very talented and exciting new young singer-songwriter who naturally communicates the feelings and emotions of youth with consummate ease.
Frater-Taylor’s assured and sensitive guitar playing marries perfectly with her thoughtful lyrics and soulful melodies.
She has a way of using sophisticated rhythms, textures, and dynamics so that her resulting arrangements perfectly flavor each song.
“Umami” has all the distinctive elements of Frater-Taylor’s considerable musical arsenal; it displays her jazz/pop credentials most clearly in the live version recorded at Ziggy’s Jazz Club, London, with her exciting vocals doubling in true jazz style with the guitar solo. Strong rhythms abound in “We Want Change,” a youthful anthem, and “Wasted Time,” with its changing layers of textures and dynamics. Her voice has a vulnerability and ethereal quality suited particularly well to “In a Dream,” “Lullaby,” “Falling,” and “One Day” with her voice often doubling on the banked-up vocals.
This debut album is outstanding for the poetic lyrics, song construction, and well-judged production; it is a highly impressive beginning that without doubt will lead to much more from this very talented young musician.
