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MARIA TAYLOR + STATISTICS
ALL IN THE FAMILY

As half of the harmonizing indie-folk duo Azure Ray, Maria Taylor has spent the past several years finding her place at the increasingly crowded table at Omaha’s incestuous Saddle Creek label, lending her alluring voice to tracks by Conor Oberst’s Bright Eyes and his new-wave pals the Faint and performing as one fourth of Now It’s Overheard. So it’s no surprise to find Oberst and a number of other indie luminaries helping Taylor out on her solo debut, 11:11 (Saddle Creek), an album on which she explores her Southern roots (she arrived in Omaha via Athens), tries her hand at a little electro-organic dream pop, and exudes the quiet grace of Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval. (Azure Ray partner Orenda Fink’s Saddle Creek solo debut, Invisible Ones, hits stores August 23.) In keeping with Azure Ray’s indie team spirit, Taylor is touring with Statistics, the hard-yet-tunefully rocking emo-leaning band under whose moniker singer/songwriter/guitarist David Dalley records for Jade Tree. At first the pairing seemed odd, but by the end of the show a week ago Thursday at T.T. the Bear’s Place, it all made sense.

Fleshed out to a trio, Statistics kept things short and bittersweet as they focused on the surging melodies, mathematically complex rhythmic shifts, and moody overtones of half a dozen tunes from the new Often Lie (Jade Tree), including "No Promises," with its Pixies-ish "Where Is My Mind" riff, and the closing instrumental "10/22." Taylor then shyly emerged, flanked by Dalley and his superb drummer, and her two younger siblings — a sister on keyboards, a brother on bass. At first, Taylor’s whisper of a voice risked being overpowered by the Statistics boys. But Dalley made a few quick corrections, and with everyone following his lead, her melancholy melodies broke through the simple, textured arrangements. The band eased into a heavy guitar/bass/drums groove for the repeated chorus "It’s not a love, it’s not a love, it’s not a love song" before the clouds of guitar parted to reveal impressionistic lines like "Muted chimes find the beat/And in the steady pulse there lies conviction/A steady push and pull routine" ("Song Beneath the Song"). "Two of Those Two," with its fingerpicked guitar, was straight confessional folk. And though Taylor’s wispy covers of the soul nuggets "Tell It Like It Is" and "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" weren’t exactly gutsy, they took guts.

BY MATT ASHARE

Issue Date: July 29 - August 4, 2005
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