Vince Leigh’s Single Review: This Town by Taylor Sheridan
By Vince Leigh (Ex drummer of Pseudo Echo, Tina Arena and John Farnham) of Australian Radio Promotion for Sheldon Ang Media
Australian singer-songwriter Taylor Sheridan has just dropped the second single from his forthcoming album Troubadour, This Town, a single dripping with so much poignant nostalgia you’d think the streets themselves were weeping. The second track to be lifted from his debut album, this song is Sheridan wrestling with the ghosts of small-town sidewalks that refuse to let go. In his own words, crafting This Town was about ‘capturing a feeling of heartbreak,’ a mission he accomplishes with the finesse of a seasoned bard who knows his way around the gut-punching corridors of country music.
Start with a guitar that doesn’t just strum but bleeds drama, setting the stage for Sheridan’s exploration into the spectral hauntings of past loves that turn familiar corners into corridors of estrangement. Here’s a guy who could probably find the gloom in a sunny day, not out of despair, but from that relentless pursuit of truth that all true artists share. He sings of the way places echo people, turning every ‘hello’ on Main Street into a dirge. And let’s talk about the bones of this track—musically, This Town isn’t just wearing its heart on its sleeve; it’s practically haemorrhaging emotion with every chord. From the solitary intro that builds into a heartbeat pulse in the verses, to a pre-chorus that hits you with the high notes only to drop you into the guts of a full-band chorus that’s as raw as it is melodic.
It’s blues rock, yeah, but this isn’t your daddy’s blues. It’s contemporary blues, soaked in a kind of modern angst that even your most jaded Spotify addict could vibe with. And just when you think you’ve caught your breath, Sheridan throws in a guitar solo that could make a grown man cry and then some atmospheric vocals in the bridge that practically scream indie film soundtrack. As Sheridan gears up to tour with Jimmy Barnes, hitting everything from Perth to the Sydney Opera House, This Town promises to be the kind of track that doesn’t just fill seats but fills the space between loss and redemption. So, if you thought Taylor Sheridan was just another voice in the crowd, think again. He’s a voice that’s shaping how we feel about the places we come from—and the people we’ve become because of them.
