The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, by Taylor Jules, is an EP right up there with what the mainstream Pop, R&B, Soul, Rock, and Dance Music audience should expect from anyone on the airwaves. These four tracks are not only radio-friendly; they’re deep and heartfelt, well-crafted music and words by Taylor Jules, Stefan Lit, and Dylan Chambers. This is a combination of great songwriting and sonic production, delivering a fully blended mix of said genres. And the lyrics are where it all gets good, bad, and ugly, wrapped into one thread of excellent tracks, leaving you asking for more.
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The lyrics to the tracks on The Good, The Bad And The Ugliest, are what stand out the most, sung over tracks completely cut out for it, as if the lyrics came first, but not all ideas come out that way. This is some of the magic of songwriting that a lot of people miss, but in order to mean something and make a statement, sometimes it can go either way or both. “All Time Low” begins with a track about struggling with coming off a bad year and the everyday common things it weighs on, things like preparation to be socially involved.
The sheer radio-readiness of this music is the first thing to note, but not in the familiarity sense that you’ve heard it all before, but in the fresher sense that also brings something new, not just having a style or genre down. “Every Little Moment” is where things get playful, with some cool vintage effects and a lovely piano behind a classy vocal delivery by Taylor Jules. This is a brilliant throwback, with a classic lounge appeal, topped off by modern touches that leave it somewhere in the middle of the two with a smooth jazz feel.
Rather than describe what the tracks are completely about, a track like “Real Love” has its own built-in meaning and doesn’t need a lot of describing beyond its title, as it grooves along in its proper place in the track list. You can just count on the fact that while it’s meaningful, it’s not a lyrically deep track, but it sits well in the center of The Good, The Bad And The Ugly EP. “Real Love” is meant to stand where it does, without being the star of the show, but it’s still a great track belonging to it.
“Sage Advice” is another story, and a radio edit is all it takes to hang it with the other tracks on The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, but let me help Taylor Jules get her incendiary point across by agreeing with the lyrics, and how she should’ve kept the advice. Either way you slice it, this track closes the EP on a good note, whether it comes with any bad factors or not. “Sage Advice” is also another nod to smooth jazz, on top of what the lyrics bring to the table, making it a must-hear for adult contemporary music lovers.
Trace Whittaker