Music Review: Angel Taylor's debut album shines

Angel Taylor,

"Love Travels"

Angel Taylor's debut album," "Love Travels," is a lush and lilting treatment on pop. It's a sugarcoated production to be sure, but honest enough around the edges to keep things from becoming too sappy.

Of course it's all about love and dating and the occasional heartache. What pop song isn't, really? What Taylor brings to the table that sets her apart is a voice with enough quirks to make her stand out in a crowded genre of wannabe Lisa Loebs.

Take "Like You Do," a light track about love affirmed. Taylor employs a gorgeous husky whisper at times, and pours on the vocal energy as the pace quickens. She keeps the track from succumbing to the session musician bore it might have otherwise been.

Taylor's voice, with its adorable squeaks sprinkled here and there, is the secret weapon here and makes "Love Travels" one of the top debut albums of the year.

-- AP