Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Taylor John Williams from Season 7 of The Voice has released his first full-length album.

He’s since relocated to Los Angeles. And, on Friday, he released his first album, the eight-track “El Dorado.”

The project was partly funded through a highly successful Pledge Music campaign.

In launching it, Taylor John said the album and the songs on it were inspired by his move to Los Angeles and the changes it caused in his life.

“The title (‘El Dorado’) references the mythical lost city of gold and its symbolic relationship to a place like Los Angeles; a place that seduces by promising all the fortunes and opportunities one could ask for.

“It speaks of my first year in the belly of it all; 1,000 miles away from my family, and from the woman who inspired me to start writing in the first place.

“That’s not to say that there haven’t been plenty of positive feelings that have come from all this, but I don’t effectively feed upon joy for musical inspiration.

“So you can expect my typical brand of morose introspection to be draped over most of the record, but it will be delivered with a serious injection of energy and grit due to the strength of this incredible band.”

Morose introspection, perhaps, but fans seem to be responding. Twenty-four hours after its release, “El Dorado” was number 11 on the iTunes singer-songwriter albums chart.

I’ve embedded a live version of “El Dorado” below. Also be sure to check out “Like the Movies” and “Up North.”

The release is hardly Taylor John’s first since The Voice (his finished Top 5). He and already released two EPs — “Song of a Dead Man” (2015) and “Hiraeth” (2016) — and the glorious single “White Summer Dress” earlier this year.

The 26-year-old is now on tour supporting the album. You can check out upcoming West Coast tour dates on his Facebook page.

Mini-reviews of all post-Voice albums and EPs released in 2017, complete with a 50-song playlist.