In theory, Taylor McCall should’ve been on cloud nine. The singer-songwriter, originally from the Upstate but now living in Franklin, Tennessee, had a huge breakthrough with his 2021 album “Black Powder Soul.”
The album was a collection of dark, ominous, bluesy songs with serious rock ’n’ roll swagger, and it got some serious attention, racking up tens of millions of streams and even helping McCall land a supporting spot on former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant’s 2023 tour.
And yet, while his career skyrocketed, McCall wasn’t feeling elated. He was feeling pressure.
“After I made ‘Black Powder Soul,’ I went through a weird phase,” says McCall, who plays at the Radio Room in Greenville Sept. 26. “I made this great project and now I’m releasing that to the world, but I love making music so much that I was already sonically searching for what I was going to do next. I was trying too hard to do the next thing while this other thing needed to get the light it deserved. I had to let go of that pressure.”
The songs did eventually come, and earlier this year, McCall released “Mellow War,” which is entirely different from “Black Powder Soul.” Gone is the stomp and swagger. Instead, McCall creates a hazy, blurred backdrop of subtle, pulsing rock that is deliberate, but defiantly not “mellow.” It’s a great album for dark nights of the soul or contemplative Sunday mornings.
The cover features a photo of McCall’s grandfather, a Vietnam veteran whose story forms the spine of “Mellow War.” The album also begins with a brief clip of McCall’s grandparents singing a gospel song.
“I’m always searching for a way to make an album a cohesive body of work through a certain production style,” McCall says of the dreamy-but-dark vibe. “A lot of these songs started as an acoustic guitar and a vocal, and then we tried out other different instruments. I think it can be more atmospheric when someone who’s not professionally trained on an instrument gets on there and makes the coolest sounds that they can.”
McCall says he’s looking forward to sharing this new sound at the Radio Room in his home state.
“I haven’t been back in a little while, but I definitely can’t wait to get back there very soon and see my good family and friends and Greenville,” he says. “And I’m excited to come play down there soon.”
Want to go?
Who: Taylor McCall, with James Tucker and Mark Webb Jr.
Where: Radio Room, 28 Liberty Lane, Greenville
When: Sept. 26, 8 p.m.
Tickets and info: radioroomgreenvile.com
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