Kathy Taler released her first full-length album Not Guilty on Two Jack Records recently. Taler looks just the opposite of the title on the cover of this CD, looking every bit the mischievous rascal that shows up in the ten tracks on this CD.

The Parental Advisory Warning is for one thing, she uses the F word on the lead off track, and I never heard anything else derogatory after that. Taler does paint the image of the rebel without a cause quite well. The visual statement is definitely intact at this point with her CD covers and the images all over her website suggest that there is a hard core edge to her persona, but does all the music follow?

Not Guilty is a fun album. She is comparable to a female Alice Cooper if you will with just not as much horror and shock. All I kept thinking of while listening was Joan Jett’s first band The Runaways and in particular the song “Cherry Bomb.” Taler has that Jett and Lita Ford tough-as-leather rocker vocal style. The music does follow her lead for the most part, so it does work.

What I found interesting after making my way through this CD was the title track closes out the recording and Taler’s voice is suddenly more pop and smoother. I thought this was some of her finest moments on the album. Therefore, what I ended up realizing about this female rocker was that there is much more behind the tough chick mask she wears for her music. Taler has talent and her band is not that bad either. She provides lead and background vocals, acoustic and electric guitars and keyboards. David Buland (bass, electric guitar), Bill Martin (piano, violin orchestration) and Alex Mine (drums) afford the rest of the instrumentation to fill out the sound and help to bring Taler’s songs to life. This artist has something to say, note “Life Stinks” and “Justice.” Each track packs a powerful punch, so much that the music is secondary.

Taler reminded me of The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and the line “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”, “Justice” gives us food for thought with words like…

For centuries of injustice
It wasn’t so long ago
They killed the ones that were different
A slave, a witch, a foe
You think the world has changed
Well look hard and know
‘Cause viciousness remains
Inside the human heart

And from “Life Stinks” a similar express of grief…

Makes you wonder are you a puppet and who or what is pulling the strings? Is it the president, you own parents ‘cause you know what…life stinks

I did not hear too much variation on the theme or the music on this album with the exception of the closer “Criminal Mind.” This is a good album and Taler has the potential to be much better than a flat out good. Her penchant for writing on the dark side may be more powerful and effective with some heavier music to support the lyrics and then if the artist decides to soften it up a bit a go the pop route then certainly success would be attainable as well. Not every artist has that kind of talent and flexibility. It will be interesting to see what the next incarnation of Kathy Taler will be but in the meantime, there is a socially conscious effort put into this project and plenty of music to enjoy on Not Guilty.

Artist: Kathy Taler
Title: Not Guilty
Genre: Rock
Label: Two Jack Records
Website
Source Link

Tracks:
01. Life Stinks
02. Condemnable
03. Get It Right
04. Far From Heaven
05. Rhode Island
06. I Want U Again
07. Angel of Death
08. Sleepy Hollow
09. Justice
10. Criminal Mind

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Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck