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Review Good 'Dog' Good 'Dog' BY BRIAN BAKER · OCTOBER 23RD, 2013 · MUSIC In October 2010, Cincinnati-based singer/songwriter Kim Taylor was promoting her extraordinary new album, Little Miracle, while balancing home life with her husband and son. Taylor was also making time for classes at the University of Cincinnati as she attempted to complete her science degree in geology, a path cut short by her pregnancy years earlier. Three years later, Taylor s schedule may suffer from even more overbooking. She s just released her stellar new album, Love s a Dog, and is gearing up for the local release show, which coincides with the local premiere of the indie film, I Used to Be Darker, directed by Matthew Porterfield and featuring Taylor in a lead acting role. The difference now is she s not studying for geology finals. I did it for a year and I loved the classes, but I couldn t afford it, Taylor says at Oakley s Redtree art gallery and coffee shop. I do music full-time now and I literally had to choose either do music or go back to school. With Love s a Dog, recorded in New York with longtime musical cohort Jimi Zhivago and drummer Devon Ashley, Taylor has maintained her signature Folk/Pop style while infusing it with a slight uptick in swing and propulsion. It s weird because I don t hear that, but other people have said that, Taylor says. I think this record is more reflective of the experiences I ve been having for the last three years. When I made Little Miracle, I d never written with anybody, I d never done film, I was still doing the songwriter thing which consisted of me writing songs in my own space, in my own head, no collaboration, usually in a bathroom somewhere. With Little Miracle, there were a couple of songs that I felt like I was trying to challenge myself, like the song Fruit of My Labor, which is a story/song. I don t typically write folky story/songs, I try to grab images and run with them. Taylor wrote a skeletal version of what would become the new album s title track in the wake of completing Little Miracle, but she didn t begin crafting new material until after she had worked on I Used to Be Darker. When the film wrapped, Taylor hit a bumpy patch that she regularly navigates. I was going through one of my I quit phases, Taylor says with a laugh. I don t say it out loud to anybody. I have been with my management for seven years, and I told my manager I get to call you and quit once a day, if I want to. I get to have a brat moment. Sometimes you get so frustrated with the industry or perceptions or whatever and you just want to chuck it. Taylor resisted her chuck-it impulse and tapped her experiences co-writing with Nashville songwriters Luke Laird, Natalie Hemby and Jon Mabe (who have written for the likes of Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Miley Cyrus, Tim McGraw and dozens of others), as well as her acting, to inform her new material. It s definitely been influenced by a lot of co-writing I ve done, Taylor says. It s taking a little from what I m learning from them, and I think the experience of the film was a reflection of what it means to be creative write a song, create a film. I loved the process, the actual filming and what it s like to take on a character. That s real intriguing to me, because I feel like I do that with music already. None of those songs are really from me, they re from different sides of my personality. It s not a huge leap, but it s more of a challenge because I can hide in music so much more. There s a synergistic quality to Taylor s inspiration; she challenged herself as a writer on Little Miracle, which may well have helped her to define her character in I Used to Be Darker, who is also a songwriter. --citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-28897-good_dog.htmlThe revelatory ambiguous title of Love s A Dog (October 8) from Kim Taylor is a knowing indicator of the intelligent, socially-aware and razor-sharp songs that make up the acclaimed Cincinnati-based songwriter s fifth album in just over a decade. Working once again with studio partner and multi-instrumentalist Jimi Zhivago, Taylor s first collection of songs since 2010 s excellent Little Miracle is an extension of the rootsy folk and dark pop melodies that have defined her recorded works and mesmerizing, intimate live performances. The husky, mournful vocals. The rich, organic instrumental backing. The sweetly turned melodies that easily veer into haunting balladry (the graceful melancholia of Bleeding Heart ) and whip-smart and edgy indie pop (the gently funky, early-Tom Waits-ian title track). Click through below to stream the newly fleshed-out version of American Child ... --livealbumreview.com/87992/kim-taylor-loves-a-dog.html