Taylor Rae gets "comfortable with being uncomfortable" with herself on 'Maybe I’m The Villain' and Announces New Album The Void for April 18th

'Maybe I'm the Villain' is the first taste of Taylor Rae's follow up to her 2021 album Mad Twenties, taken from her forthcoming album The Void due out on April 18th.

"The concept for this song came while I was quarreling with someone, and for the life of me, I just could not see their side," the Austin based singer told us. "Then it dawned on me that when we have opposing thoughts with others, it is likely they view us as the villain of the story. From there, I was then inspired to tie it into the very light topic of Intergenerational Trauma. This story became about my family history. Over the course of my twenties, I spent so much time in therapy uncovering patterns and learning how to break generational cycles, but it has proved to be a nearly impossible task. There are times when I genuinely scare myself after reflecting on my own past behaviors and decisions, because they remind me of exactly what I’ve been trying to avoid doing and/or being for so long (see verse 2)."

"There’s two sides to every story so I challenge my own truth," she sings in that second verse. "A hero’s work is a lifelong journey / But I’m out here living to survive another day."

"This is a deeply self-reflective song that explores the result of having been hurt by the people around you, and how if you’re not careful, you just regurgitate it onto others, and even yourself," she says. "Every song on The Void portrays a different thing I’ve had to get comfortable with being uncomfortable with."

For the much anticipated follow up to her critically acclaimed debut, Mad Twenties, Taylor Rae turns her attentions inwards with a collection of the most personal songs of her career as she celebrates the contradictory and complementary parts of the human experience, exploring life's dark corners — from breakups to intergenerational trauma - set to a bubbling pot of alt-pop tinged americana and modern day folk.

"The main theme is introspection," says Rae. "The past four years have been such a trying time with constant change. Sometimes it felt like I was staring into the void, and I decided to document the moment by writing these songs."

With its lush, sweeping harmonies, sugary '90s pop gloss and crunching backbeat, the swampy country funk of 'Maybe I'm the Villain' is a bold statement of intent that sounds like All Saints recording with The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.

"Resolute, you know I’ve got to have it / Shadow moving slow inside the attic," she sings as smooth '90s R&B harmonies swirl around her. "Generations got me wreaking havoc / Hurting you but I can’t break the habit."

Watch the video for 'Maybe I'm the Villain' exclusively premiering on Holler below

Growing up in the Californian Santa Cruz Mountains, Taylor Rae relocated to the Lone Star State in the early 2020s, before her debut record Mad Twenties became a national hit with the single off the album, 'Home on the Road', remaining in the Top 10 of the Americana Music Singles Chart for five consecutive weeks and the album sticking to the Top 50 for 31 consecutive weeks.In 2022, while she crisscrossed the country in support of its release, no other independently-released which gave Rae the chance to road-test new material.

Songs like 'Home on the Road' were becoming staples of her nightly shows, but so were the newer songs she'd been writing back home in Austin. Some of those tunes were self-examinations rooted in loss and heartbreak. Others were celebrations of new love. Together, they explored the contrasts that seemed to fill her life: darkness and light, chaos and balance, closed doors and new beginnings.

When it came time to record that material, Rae turned to Eric Krasno, the Grammy-winning musician and versatile producer who'd already spent decades fusing together different sounds as co-founder of Soulive and Lettuce.

"Eric worked on some of my favorite records, like Revelator by Tedeschi Trucks Band," she says. "He's played with Dead & Company, too, and I'm from the Bay Area, so the Dead always feels like home to me. Everything just felt really right about working together."

Holed up at Krasno's home studio in Pasadena, they created an immersive and wildly eclectic album that both confirms Rae's status as an Americana A-lister and reaches far beyond the genre's borders.

"I wrote this record about an incredibly trying period in my life, but I'm coming out of that void now," the singer says about her forthcoming album. "I'm excited and going into whatever the next phase might be."

The Void is released on April 18th.