Azure Ray (featuring Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink)
I made an attempt to bump an old thread in order to get some feedback on Azure Ray a few months back, but I’m not sure if anyone bothered to check them out.
Well, Azure Ray is Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink (wife of Todd Baechle of The Faint), both of whom have respectively put out solo albums (both girls are fully capable of holding their own as full time solo artists if they chose to). Todd actually chose to take the last name of Orenda after the marriage (what’s even more odd…I can’t imagine Orenda listening to the Faint). Much like the Faint, Azure Ray are based in Omaha (although originally from Georgia) and are on Saddle Creek Records. Unlike the Faint, they are very much a lo-fi folk group, with emphasis on their piano loops, violas, and ethereal acoustic guitars or sometimes the occasional electro beat. Both girls have very soft, quiet (almost whispering), and intimate voices, which works perfectly with their slow harmonies. Their voices (particular Maria’s) are so tender that the girls sound as if they are…lonely and lost…maybe hopeless…or even shy. The music comes off very romantic and melancholy, but too beautiful to be depressing.
Their debut self-titled was released in 2001 on Warm Records, and for a debut, it was a very strong record, one worth your dollars worth (at least for the first half of the album). Burn and Shiver was also released on Warm Records, although honestly I’ve never heard the album (with the exception of “The New Year”), so I cannot comment. If it’s anything like their other albums, it’s probably a great record. They went on to sign with Saddle Creek in 2003 and released Hold On Love, debatably their strongest effort. Several of their most well-known singles are off of this album, and really, from top to bottom, I have nothing negative to say about it.
As I mentioned earlier, both Maria and Orenda released solo albums. When you listen to both, (no offense to Orenda) you can tell how important Maria is to Azure Ray. Maria’s solo album 11:11 sounds basically like Hold On Love, but even more intimate… if that is possible. All I gotta say is, if you like Azure Ray, you’ll love Maria Taylor’s 11:11…maybe even more.
They’re also in another Saddle Creek project called Now It’s Overhead…couldn’t tell you a damn thing about them though.
Favorite Tracks: If I Fall, Rise, November, We Are Mice, Drinks We Drank Last Night, and Sleep
Favorite Tracks (Maria Taylor): Two of Those Too, Speak Easy, Leap Year, and Xanax
http://www.azureraymusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/azureray
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H3m0...ch=Azure%20Ray