Premiere: Hayley Taylor Shines in Vulnerable Return “Falling Hard”

Hayley Taylor taps into vulnerability’s depths in her intimate new single “Falling Hard,” an expansive electropop tribute to the truest form of love.

“Falling Hard” – Hayley Taylor

We’ve both been burned; lost all we knew…

Vulnerability is as special as it is powerful: We alone control how much of ourselves we share with someone else – how much of our truths we give to another. Hayley Taylor taps into vulnerability’s depths in her intimate new single “Falling Hard,” an expansive electropop tribute to the truest form of love.

We’re falling fast
we’re falling hard
I want it all
and you want it now

Your hot, hot heat’s gonna melt me down
Could we make this last?
Cause I don’t want, I don’t want,
I don’t want to be let down
when you throw

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Falling Hard,” the lead single from Hayley Taylor’s forthcoming sophomore album How the Light Gets In (out this summer). Taylor’s first album in nearly a decade finds the Michigan-born, Los Angeles-raised singer/songwriter returning to the fore with grace, determination, and a bold new sound.  Gone are the acoustics that resonated on her Pitchfork-acclaimed debut One Foot in Front of the Other; in their place, Taylor has injected dynamic synths that bustle with fresh energy.

An echoing CHVRCHES-esque instrumental lays a driving melody in “Falling Hard,” over which Taylor’s shimmering vocals rise and shine.

“‘Falling Hard’ is about that moment when you are falling for someone and you ask yourself, am I willing to risk it all and jump into the deep end with this person?” Taylor tells Atwood Magazine. “I’ve found in order to truly love someone you have to be vulnerable and put your heart on the line. For me, songs mark chapters in my life, and each one tells the story of where I was at the time. I wrote this song about a new relationship I was in. We had been friends for several years and had a band together, and then one day, it all changed. He’s now my husband (and the father of my baby), so it’s a special song to me because it was the very beginning.”

Taylor pledges herself to the one she loves in a vibrant, effusive chorus full of sonic light and heartfelt affection:

If you want to be the one I turn to
if you want to be the one I need,
Then hold me close
And tell me you’ll never
let me go, let me go, let me go

Co-written with Rich Jacques, “Falling Hard” captures that magic moment when you surrender yourself to another. Taylor’s lyrics also tell a bit of her story – hinting at the hardship she’s faced as an artist making music, but finding that she can use her experience to connect with others and find commonalities.

We’ve both been burned
lost all we knew
Could this love be true?
Cause we both got, we both got,
we both got a lot to lose

She explains: “I co-wrote the song with Rich Jacques, an incredible producer and musician, who I’d been friends with for a long time.  We’d both had been listening to similar influences in music and immediately were on the same page when we got together to write. Rich won a Grammy this year for producing Lisa Loeb’s album so I’m really excited for him.”

Taylor’s forthcoming sophomore album How the Light Gets In features a number of notable producers and songwriters (including Dan Romer [Shawn Mendes, Ingrid Michaelson] and John Morrical [Charli XCX]), but ultimately it’s the artist herself who rises highest on this long-awaited new record.

“Falling Hard” hails Hayley Taylor’s return with an air of love and excitement; she confidently channels her artistry into a vivid synthpop sound that hits the home. We’re left with her passionate chorus echoing in our head: “If you want to be the one I need, then hold me close and tell me you’ll never let me go.”

There are few pleasures in life greater than being this vulnerable and real. Stream “Falling Hard” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!

stream/purchase “Falling Hard” here

“Falling Hard” – Hayley Taylor

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? © Shervin Lainez
cover art © Elia Mervi
cover graphics © Ofer Moses

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