Almost exactly a year ago, I described ‘Heavy Soul‘ as the album I had been wishing Joanne Shaw Taylor to make for about a decade. After hearing ‘Black & Gold’, I fear I may have spoken too soon. The album does everything ‘Heavy Soul’ did right and simply improves on it. Like its predecessor, ‘Black & Gold’ feels like Taylor doesn’t force herself to focus on a particular strength of hers. Instead, it combines her fiery blues guitar playing, her songwriting skills in multiple rootsy genres, and her warm, soulful alto, without any of them ever getting in each other’s way.

In the past, Taylor has released albums that had a strong focus on one particular side of her skill set. ‘Reckless Heart’ (2019) was a jam-heavy, guitar-focused album, which is why the blues aspect of Taylor’s material defined a majority of that album, while 2022’s ‘Nobody’s Fool‘ was much more of an americana-tinged songwriting affair. She does either side well, but the albums on which Taylor brings all of her stylistic interests together are always the ones that sound best. This was true for 2012’s ‘Almost Always Never‘ and 2014’s ‘The Dirty Truth‘, it was true for ‘Heavy Soul’, and it is once again for ‘Black & Gold’.

Taylor has stated that she wanted to experiment with some styles she hadn’t dare to experiment with in the past for ‘Black & Gold’. The most obvious example of this is probably the gorgeous, low-key ‘Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?’. In the hands of a less capable songwriter, the deeply personal lyrics of the song could easily have devolved into melodrama, but Taylor is much more subtle, going for a subdued art-rock vibe instead. The folky pop song ‘Grayer Shade of Blue’ also highlights a different side of Taylor’s, while ‘Summer Love’ and ‘All the Things I Said’ prove what a good pop songwriter she is.

Obviously, if you want to hear Taylor rock out a little more, ‘Black & Gold’ has got you covered as well. My personal favorite of the rockier tracks is the stomping, confrontational ‘What Are You Gonna Do Now?’, but the dynamic opener ‘Hold of My Heart’ is every bit as good. ‘I Gotta Stop Letting You Let Me Down’ is a must-hear for bluesrockers. Another track I really love is ‘Look What I’ve Become’, which is quite unique in how it mixes a passionate, mid-tempo blues rock vibe with more acoustic, singer-songwriter-esque verses. Taylor also manages to make the two covers – the title track and closer ‘Love Lives Here’ – totally her own.

Genuinely everything anyone could want from a rootsy rock album can be found on ‘Black & Gold’. There is an incredible amount of variation on the album, and yet it flows pleasantly – slightly better than ‘Heavy Soul’ even – whilst still sounding like the same artist througout. Taylor is really something special, avoiding the pitfalls of many of her peers. She never oversings, she never gets stuck in the same gear for much too long, and her albums are worth listening to all the way through, because she takes her listeners to different places. Do yourself a favor and check out ‘Black & Gold’ as soon as you can.

Recommended tracks: ‘Look What I’ve Become’, ‘Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?’, ‘What Are You Gonna Do Now?’, ‘Hold of My Heart’