Otis Taylor: My World is Gone – review

Otis Taylor's mixture of "trance blues" and tough social commentary remains unlike anything else in American music. Here the Colorado singer and banjo champion focuses on the dispossession of Native Americans, helped by guitarist Mato Nanji (of the band Indigenous). Their approach veers between the mournful, fiddle-drenched acoustics of the title track and tougher electric pieces, such as Lost My Horse and Never Been to the Reservation, where Nanji makes stinging contributions. Taylor's vocal presence is gruff and minimal to a fault, but musical textures that entwine banjo, mandolin and cornet are often arresting, as are cameos such as Sand Creek Massacre Mourning and Girl Friend's House.