Mills: “Writing music for myself is cathartic. It’s about what these songs can do for someone in the crowd.”
Photo by Juan R. Govea
It’s been a long time, but Taylor Craig Mills is back. For the rootsy singer-songwriter’s new EP, he rerecorded three older songs of his, plus he added a new track.
Mills will celebrate the release of Go Forth on Fri, Aug 1, with Jeremy Hull on upright bass and fellow Fort Worth singer-songwriter Jacob Furr on guitar. Joe Bill Rose from Fort Worth cowpunks Holy Moly will open the evening.
Mills is glad to be back.
“I took a break, started a family, and it’s been beautiful,” he said. “It’s time to start getting back out there.”
The EP was recorded by Ryan Tharp and Clint Kirby at 7013 Studio (Red Shahan, Austin Mead, Scott Copeland) on the West Side. The old material comes from Mills’ 2012 debut album, Don’t Ever Look Back Twice. The EP brims with some of the songwriter’s most personal songs, with tales of love, loss, and addiction taking center stage.
In the title track, a little motherly advice goes a long way, while lessons are also learned on “Rollin’ Stone Boulevard” and “Dealin’ with the [Love, Trouble, and Sin].”
“This project is about revisiting songs I’ve carried with me for years but from a place of deeper perspective and a wearier voice,” Mills said.
The new track is “Bottles Away,” about coming to terms with recurring addiction and “confronting your demons and deciding if you’re going to aim to misbehave or change,” Mills said.
The singer-songwriter is psyched to share his handiwork. “Writing music for myself is cathartic. It’s about what these songs can do for someone in the crowd. … I’m not saying my music is all encompassing and will change lives or the world. In the end-all moment, if what I’ve done in writing music can help somebody, then that’s the end-all goal.”
Taylor Craig Mills
8pm Fri w/Joe Bill Rose at The Post, 2736 W 6th St, Fort Worth. $25. 817-945-8890.
Mills: “It’s time to start getting back out there.” Juan R. Govea
