It would be too easy to plant singer/songwriter Terese Taylor (http://www.teresetaylor.com) in the garden of Polly Jean Harvey, especially in her early hellraiser years. Certainly the influence is there, especially on the stinging "Doesn't Shine" and the buzzing "Noose for Reason," but Taylor is no copycat. In fact, Taylor owes more to American roots rock than PJ's punk bloodline.
Anybody remember the group Come from the '90s? Taylor's blend of Velvet Underground gloom and bluesy Americana actually recalls them more than PJ. However, Come fell of the face of the planet so none too many will namedrop them in a review of "Good Luck Investigationship." Furthermore, Taylor has probably never even heard of Come. If anything, they have a mutual affinity for Neil Young, whose spiritual fingerprints are all over "Dirty" and in Taylor's well-soiled guitar riffs.
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Taylor thankfully provides a lyric sheet, which is helpful because there is some enigmatic songwriting here. "Doesn't Shine," "By My Grave," and "Prodigal Son" have a Biblical bent to them. No, not in the Christian music sense but more like the songs of Nick Cave, God-fearing folk tales with an Old World feel. You can almost imagine Cave singing, "Bury my love next to me/Bury the one I love the most," in "By My Grave."
"Good Luck Investigationship" is a compelling, dimly-lit effort from a new talent that just might propel to the atmospheric heights of her idols.
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