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ARTIST: Saylor, David A
ALBUM: Kiss Of Judas [ep]
LABEL: AOR BLVD
SERIAL: ABR005
YEAR: 2013
SPONSOR: AOR BLVD

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

LINEUP: David A. Saylor - vocals, all instruments * Huwey Lucas - guitar solo (3) * Lars Wickett - drums (2,3) * Paul Pryor - bass (3) * David Mark Pearce - guitar solos (4,5,6) * Sarah Leaman, Jacquie Williams, Romany Saylor - additional backing vocals

TRACK LISTING: 01 Kiss Of Judas * 02 If Only * 03 Ana * 04 Tonight * 05 True Reflection * 06 Now I'm Free * 07 Stand Up And Fight (acoustic mix) * 08 Strange World (acoustic mix)

RATING:

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Background
The name David Saylor should be familiar to those who have followed the newish AOR BLVD Records over the last few years. Previously the singer with 80's UK band Push, Saylor has become a label favourite, with the reissued Push album along with his previous solo CD 'City Of Angels' and this new one 'Kiss Of Judas' given some backing. If you've been on Facebook, Saylor is there, with this new EP looming on the horizon some months back. It's a pleasant slice of melodramatic AOR, with all the pre-requisites necessary to make an impact in the AOR sub-genre. Musically, I'm reminded of some previous British outfits such as Bite The Bullet, Say and Radio Silence, but Saylor's vocals lift substantially above what those outfits delivered.

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The Songs
It's that voice that carries this EP, though the lead-off track (the title track) wasn't an immediate hit for me, a weaker chorus than expected, and the vocal shout-outs not quite making the right impact. Things improve a heap over the next few tracks. Some delicate and well placed keyboards give 'If Only' a great introduction. Honey roughened guitars help give it some presence, but the chorus is the hundreds and thousands on top. 'Ana' (pronounced 'Anna') is just exquisite stuff, a ballad of the first degree, and one I've been playing often. 'Tonight' appeals as a mid-range partial ballad. An ok song, but it didn't carry enough dynamics to match the two songs that went before. Saylor bumps up the dial for 'True Reflection'. It sounds slightly edgier with nice female harmony vocals added to the mix, though it's still lightweight in the overall context. 'Now I'm Free' features medium rare verses but well-done choruses, some synth intrusions like a well rendered fork, while the guitar-work leaves knife marks across the body of the song. The two final tracks are acoustic versions of 'Stand Up And Fight' and 'Strange World'. I wasn't that keen on their inclusion here, much preferring the original versions found on Push's CD 'Strange World', Saylor probably should've added two recent additions instead, just to keep the consistency of the EP intact.

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In Summary
This is a very likeable EP, Saylor's vocals really the key attraction here. Originally when I first played this, I thought it was under produced, but having listened to it under a decent set of phones, that's not the case at all. Saylor is slowly but surely building up a nice port-folio of material, and 'Kiss Of Judas' consolidates the mans ability within the melodic rock/AOR sub-genre.

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