04 Story of the Sea-Green Sky Part Two

Adam Taylor’s NO POET emerges as a mature look at the growth into adulthood, focusing on conflicts such as leaving one’s home, the frustration of sexuality and questioning God. "There are these fun, refreshing, child-like pop songs juxtaposed against songs with much darker adult themes,” Taylor explains. The rollicking “Oliver” opens the album, detailing a long-distance relationship fraught with sexual anxieties. The argument between the mind and heart against the voice in the pants – the pet-named Oliver of the title – orchestrates a story of temptation, lust and the redemptive power of trust. Inspired by the famous Ennio Morricone, composer for dozens of deliciously cultish western films in the 60’s and 70’s, “Spaghetti Western” is the self-destructive man without a home or a name. Along his rambling journey he drinks whiskey, defeats Christ in a poker game, gets arrested and elopes with Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction. At the end of the night, you may strongly consider his invitation to join this wild and enchanting lifestyle. The album swells with the drama requisite of any period of emotional and creative growth. "So much of the album is about stepping out of boyhood into manhood,” Taylor muses, “and what it means to be a man and not just an artist.”