#taylorroche

[existentialmagazine]

Review: Taylor Roche’s newest single ‘day and night’ interweaves indie-pop with a resonant message of yearning

Taylor Roche’s newest single ‘day&night’ interweaves indie-pop & R&B with a resonant message of yearningAfter quickly becoming one of New Zealand’s most popular TikTok personalities, indie-pop artist Taylor Roche has since turned his drives towards music after finding himself in the online limelight. Fusing 80s and 90s nostalgia with modern day synth-pop and R&B, Taylor has created a sound that errs on the edge of indie-pop with a multitude of layers to unpack beneath the surface. With inspirations from Tears For Fears, Prince, Conan Gray & The Weeknd, Taylor continues to build upon a discography of variation and individuality - with his earlier release ‘Similar Feeling’ catching our eye earlier this year. Now returning with yet another slice of greatness, Taylor shares latest single ‘day&night’, yet again written straight for the hearts of hopeless romantics.

As a moody bassline sets the tone in a short intro, ‘day&night’ immediately serves up an atmospheric yet evidently dark environment set to linger long after listening. Atop of this smokey undertone, fast-paced beats begin to litter the verses for an edge of tenseness and impulsivity, with every little sound coinciding to the story at hand. Then, just as you’d expect the chorus to take a darker turn, Taylor offers a synth-heavy burst of sounds that explode with warmth and groove for a moment of cathartic progression. As the soundscape interweaves so effortlessly within the storytelling of Taylor, the colourful auditory playground almost traps you within its two and a half minute passage, urging that you reach its conclusion no matter how open-ended that may be. Underpinned by electronic beats and an 80s synth-pop flair, ‘day&night’ takes on a further poignant varying hue within Taylor’s haunting vocal performance. Radiating a clean, confident approach for every verse, these decisive perhaps even angered segments see a frustration-fuelled lack of emotion before transitioning towards a clearly more open-hearted chorus delivery that yearns for things to change.

Like most of Taylor’s releases, ‘day&night’ is sown within a melancholic bed of a faltering relationship that still sees an abundance of love and hope that things can miraculously recover. As you know deep down that you’re a destructive pairing, ‘day&night’ perhaps alluded to from its title displays the battle between two opposing states - maintaining distance during the daytime, but every night falling back into the same bad habits. From the inability to let go to the heartbreak that ultimately will follow, ‘day&night’ is filled to the brim with resonant lyricism like ‘I don’t want to admit it, are we finished? But now it’s different, colours fade when you go distant.’ Unable to let go, but also knowing that they weren’t right for you to begin with, ‘day&night’ tackles the all too well known experience of lingering on a lover you’ve mentally romanticised, yet when together things feel on the verge of collapse: ‘I lost respect when you set me up... now we’re strangers and I’m just trying to forget.’ With much of the soundscape of the track embodying a murky depth, it’s perhaps a little unexpected that each chorus breaks out into a hopeful dash of vibrancy in uplifting tones and colourful beats. This swift change in aura parallels masterfully with the lyrical journey however, with the toxic relationship rearing its head in every verse, the chorus starts to embody the beginnings of letting go and the happiness that comes with it.

If Taylor Roche’s exceptional songwriting caught your eye, or perhaps you just want to lose yourself within his indie-pop soundscape, you can give ‘day&night’ a listen for yourself here!

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Christian Tjandrawinata

[existentialmagazine]

Review: Taylor Roche's newest single 'similar feeling' brings smooth R&B to a heart-wrenching narrative

Independant New Zealand based artist Taylor Roche is eager to dominate the music world from his small corner of the globe, writing nostalgic pop releases that undoubtably will capture both your ears and hearts. His passions for music stirred up from a young age, becoming a reality in 2019 when he began performing on one of the largest cruise line corporations in the world travelling around Miami, New Orleans, Orlando, Mexico and the Caribbean fronting a nine-piece pop band. During this time, Taylor truly found his deep obsession for 80s and 90s synth pop and R&B, falling in love with their instrumentations and stylings so much he sought to create a modernised sound in his own work.

After some time away from releasing, Taylor now finds himself entering a new era for latest and first single of 2022, 'similar feeling.' With some similarities to Troye Sivan, Blanks, and The Weeknd, this new single feels rooted in indie-pop whilst stemming towards Taylor's truer inspirations from past eras and heavy synth incorporation.

This slow and haunting new single immediately leads with an atmospheric soundscape of echoey instrumentals that are sure to set the more melancholic tone Taylor has aimed for. From the electronic driving beat to the poignant synth-chimes, as well as Taylor's own reverberated vocals, 'similar feeling' ensures that every element will get under your skin and have you facing your own troubles through his personal and intimate words and softened yet powerful sound. In his delicate singing and expressive vocals that lie predominantly in the higher range, Taylor's vocal performance perhaps unintentionally ended up being the most gripping part of this heart-wrenchingly brilliant track; from every emotionally sung line to his sincere tone, there's an evident closeness stemming from his own experiences that makes 'similar feeling' all the more painfully raw to enjoy.

Written completely candidly, 'similar feeling' details the struggles of entering a new relationship but finding that you're subconsciously trying to replace your previous partner or at the very least find some comfort in the similarities of this new love interest. Taylor offers no judgement to those who may find themselves in the search of a rebound or new partner, with every line seeing him truthfully open up on his own heartbreaks and the plain realities that perhaps you can never let go completely from those that at one point stole a piece of your heart. The second half of the track takes on a new perspective, looking at the ex partner's new relationship and noticing you're not all too different from their new love interest either. Whilst Taylor does an impeccable job of making this small and personal storyline hit home, there's an equally interesting enjoyment in seeing the bigger picture of 'similar feeling' - as this one couple and their woes may not resonate with everyone, yet the message behind their story alludes that perhaps sometimes people never truly move on, with them often searching for familiar comforts in new faces, and that might just be okay. This narrative is one that most people can probably relate to in some aspect, picturing themselves in some of Taylor's lines like 'He owns the same kind of sweatshirts I used to wear, gives you a sense of fulfilment but it's not the same.'

For a more visual experience, Taylor has also put together a simple visualiser for the release that sees him standing in front of a cracked mirror with plentiful trippy visual effects. From the flipping perspectives to the gorgeously retro saturated tones, this is perhaps one of the most engaging and thematic visualisers we've had the pleasure of watching alongside such a gripping single.

Give a listen to 'similar feeling' for yourself here if you're searching for that one song that just gets your heartbreak, or just for a comforting soundscape to listen to in the dead of night.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Christian Tjandrawinata