She Is Risen: Talia Keys’ new LP ‘From The Ashes’
“From The Ashes” is a hot new take on buried grief, righteous rage, and eternal willpower.
MUSIC NEWS | REVIEW
In 2014, Talia Keys told me in an interview about her first solo album “Gemini Mind,” when I was a writing intern at Salt Lake City Weekly: “Sometimes people say things like, ‘I wish that girl would just shut up and sing.’ But I’m not gonna let those things get to me; I’m still gonna do what I’m gonna do.”
For more than a decade, Keys has held that promise. It didn’t always pay off, as she got fired from bars and venues for speaking her truth, but that tide is turning. She performed for 20,000 people at the Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “Fighting Oligarchy” rally in Salt Lake last Sunday, and her voice for social justice is more relevant and needed than ever.
Keys never gave up on her music or her unapologetically authentic message. But the tones in her new album express something deeper than the righteous anger, passion, and soul that fans know and love about Keys (and there is all of that, too). Emerging in “From The Ashes” are the contrasting emotions of despair and resolve. Through pain, grief, rage…comes a golden hour of renewed willpower to “Be The Resistance” (track five), and the record ends on a hopeful, Honky Tonk high note with “Glowin’ Golden” (digital single to be released on May 9).
I, for one, am very glad she never shut up.
Keys has generously shared her heart in personal songwriting throughout her career. But in this album, she’s lit the match for you to explore the darker canyons of her soul.
What I also love about this album is its “buy before you stream” release. I hope more artists adapt to this throwback style of letting listeners make time to absorb an album tangibly in one sitting, feeling a deeper appreciation and connection to the artist and the hours of creative work that went into it.
The only way to hear “From The Ashes” until its digital release May 30 is to purchase it on vinyl at Lavender Vinyl in Ogden, Graywhale Records in Taylorsville, or Keys’ Vinyl Release Show Saturday, April 19, at The State Room in Salt Lake City.
How did I get to hear “From The Ashes?”
I saw a post on Lavender Vinyl’s social media page featuring a photo of a smiling Talia Keys and store co-owner Kye Hallows with the record in hand inside the shop to announce its arrival. I was there within the hour to purchase it and take it home for a spin. The experience made me feel 13 years old again when I’d ride my bike to my local record shop to spend babysitting money on a new Carpenters cassette tape.
“From The Ashes” opens like an invocation and call to action with “Write A Song.” It’s an intimate confessional so real I recalled similar honest conversations I’ve had with my friends: “I haven’t sat down to write a song in a long time. I’m feeling guilty about the things I didn’t do.” The mood is relatably tired, defeated, and self-accepting.
“Matchstick,” the first album single to be released digitally April 25, is devoted to Keys’ friend and inspiration Psarah Johnson who died in 2022: “The world turned cold when your light went out.” Johnson was an artist and activist who created a one-woman play “Matchstick Theory” about a disabled woman living in an unforgiving world.
From vintage Motown vibes to neo-soul, funk/rock, and Americana, any of the seven tracks on this LP could have been wisely selected as a single.
There’s no denying the beauty of this album from start to finish. It’s a light that resonates in these dark days.
“From the Ashes” is a new seven-track LP by Talia Keys from Wichita, Kansas-based label Midtopia, backed by her band The Love: Lisa Giacoletto (vocals), Dave Brogan (drums) Ryan Conger (keys), and Josh Olsen (bass). There are special appearances from Sav Madigan (violin), Katie Larson (cello), and Micheal Sasich (electric guitar on “Glowin’ Golden”). All songs are written by Talia Keys (vocals, electric & acoustic guitar). The stunning cover artwork is by Gabrielle Hunter.
“From The Ashes” is available now – on vinyl only at select record shops. It will be released digitally on May 30.
This is her sixth album release after “Lessons” (LP, 2022), “We’re Here” (LP, 2018), “Fool’s Gold” (LP, 2015), “Gemini Mind” (EP, 2014), and debut “Soak Your Meat In This” (2012), and singles “Need You To Care,” “Sweet Dreams,” “I Put A Spell On You,” and “Seven Nation Army” –the latter three covers–released in 2024.
Talia Keys is an award-winning singer/songwriter and filmmaker, multi-instrumentalist, soul-funk-rock artist, and human rights advocate using her original music to promote awareness, compassion, and love. Keys performs Gemini Mind, a solo live looping show, and with her band Talia Keys & The Love, a 5-member soulful funk/rock based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Keys has toured with Orgone in 2023, Lukas Nelson 2023-24, and supported many other artists including Indigo Girls, Michael Franti, Thievery Corporation, and more.
Images courtesy of Talia Keys