Taylor Colson releases “Hurt Me” (Single)

While I had never heard of her music before picking up my copy of her new single “Hurt Me,” I knew there was something special about Taylor Colson’s brand of melodicism upon the first time I listened to this latest release. Affectionate in spirit but entirely jarring in its poetic construction, “Hurt Me” rues over the past with its words while glimpsing forward into the future with its music (a difficult contrast to successfully illustrate in a contemporary pop song).

SMART URL: http://massmix.co/taylorcolson

There is scarcely a moment in the track that features a split spotlight, and by this I don’t mean to discount the role of the instrumental fabric in structuring the narrative behind the verses. What I do mean is that, even when her position in the mix has been reduced to make a hook feel all the more powerful, there’s never an instance in which Ms. Colson sounds like any less of a star than she truly is. Hers is a mature style of songwriting for sure, and if you haven’t heard it yet, I would recommend doing so with this track immediately.

By all accounts, 2020 really needed a feel-good single that had some level of introspection in its storytelling, and though I would be hesitant to call this the most affective track out of the underground market this year, it’s unquestionably one of the stronger forces to be reckoned with this summer. There’s literally nothing sugary about the style of pop music Colson is toying with so seductively in her performance here; on the contrary, there is a sense of perpetual darkness which she employs as another arm of her sensuous master plan that we’re never able to escape, no matter what juncture of the track in question.

She isn’t trying to speak to us via her words alone in “Hurt Me;” she wants us to feel her emotions as much we’re absorbing her linguistics, which is undeniably one of the most difficult assignments a young artist can be tasked with, regardless of the studio budget they may or may not be in possession of. On this front, Colson deserves all the more credit for accomplishing what she did with what she was given.

DEEZER: https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/5264565/radio?autoplay=true

It’s particularly difficult to tell what an artist like Taylor Colson is going to do in the wake of a single like “Hurt Me” succeeding in the fashion it has the potential to this season, but alas, I don’t believe it would be wise for critics to dismiss her as a flavor of the month-type pop singer. There’s a lot to be learned about her as a composer from listening to this song, and provided she’s able to continue cultivating her craft with the same level of discipline she’s shown off thus far in her career, I don’t think there should be any reason to believe that she won’t be crossing over from the underground to the mainstream a lot sooner than later.

I’ll be staying tuned for whatever comes next, and those who also enjoy premium pop should do the same.

Samuel Pratt