Natalie Royal’s debut album Savor is pretty and sweet sounding – a genuine compliment – with a vocal that is pure and folk-aged in the precursor 60s/70s popular folk sense: another compliment. She is a confident songwriter - Black Swan was written after seeing the film of the same name, and what could have been twee and overwrought is instead mature and musically complex enough to demonstrate a true creative impulse. The album is not swelled with memorable melodies but it is filled with the strength of Royal’s voice and fine arrangements throughout, including beautiful harmonies, for example on the opening to Regret, and the tight work sustained on the beautiful, simply guitar-plucked Fight To Keep Me. Royal’s vocal is at its most distinct – and again supported by gorgeous harmony – on the slow and meditative Deluge. The album ends on title track Savor, an emotive tribute to her father who died of a heart attack at an early age.
There is a free download of her album I.O.U. - A Collection of Covers & Originals here:
This is a thank you to fans who have supported her work. It
highlights well Royal’s pure skills, for example the excellent cover of Paul
Simon’s The Only Living Boy In New York.
The voice delights over a strummed ukulele on original San Antonio Line.
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