Talia Keys w/ Enrique Cesar

An electrifying, genre-defying firebrand, Salt Lake City sensation Talia Keys blasts back with the seven-song From The Ashes, releasing May 2025 via Wichita, Kansas-based label Midtopia. Another courageous chapter in a career full of defiant documents, Talia’s latest ambitious solo offering deals potent doses of her patented searing songcraft.

Backed by members of The Love, the veteran singer/songwriter confidently explores fresh characters and fertile topography – while still digging into knowledge of self, paying tribute to heroes, and addressing our increasingly-fractured society. Styled in syrupy neo-soul, first single “Matchstick” is an intensely personal homage to dearly-departed activist/artist Psarah Johnson; second drop “Glowin’ Golden” a buoyantly-countrified bop. From the Ashes reveals a liberating batch, unveiling untapped wells of urgency, diversity, sensuality, and consciousness from the ever-evolving Keys’ canon.

With an assertive maturity, the alluring “Matchstick” seduces upon first listen, energetically landing squarely between the existential bedroom pop of Anna Moss and Say She She’s sultry nocturnal soul. Reverberating Wurlitzer, jazzy guitar phrasings, minimalist rimshot-snares, the vintage vibe is enhanced by scintillating background harmonies and an intoxicating earworm chorus. The stirring track was inspired by Johnson’s impactful social justice work; “Let your matchstick burn” resonates far deeper than merely a poetic turn-of-phrase.

“Psarah Johnson was a visionary artist, activist and bad ass singer.” recalls Keys. “She created a one-woman play – “Matchstick Theory” – about being a disabled woman in this unforgiving world. How she burns her energy, and sometimes it doesn’t come back. But when you burn bright like Psarah did, it lights the way for so many of us.”

In 2023, Talia Keys was drafted as direct tour support for Grammy-winning Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, a fortuitous opportunity and budding professional relationship that would facilitate her performing to enthusiastic new audiences all over the U.S. Appropriately, From The Ashes second single “Glowin’ Golden” mines a similar slice of salt-of-the-earth Americana. Atop proper guitar pickin’ and warm Hammond organ swells, this rootsy, Gospelized joint shuffles on the snare and struts with subtle swagger. A profound vocalist who blends verve, angst and attitude, on “Glowin’ Golden” Ms. Keys cribs a page from both Beyonce and the late Ray Charles, taking the R&B lane en route to more traditional country roads.

The contemplative 90’s alt-rock of “Sky Is Falling” flirts with shoegaze psychedelia, hip-hop syncopation and lyrical alliteration. A spirited, bluesy number that cycles through melancholic resignation, suffocating fears, hopeful dreams, and reverting to regret, Keys’ earnest purge is boosted by stunning strings courtesy of Sav Madigan and Katie Larson (The Accidentals). From the Ashes’ narrative arc is complimented by an effective production aesthetic that nods toward the groundbreaking Lilith Fair-era. Like so many heroines who paved the way, Keys sings of navigating struggles that plague our cultural climate, embodying allyship and resistance, song after rebel song.

Talia Keys laid a loyal local foundation in Salt Lake City clubs for over fifteen years, and later made her bones on national tours and festivals. Keys’ ethos and convictions, as well as a trademark fire n’ brimstone stage presence, are an amalgam of her journey, identity, influences; a new twist on the rock n’ roll troubadour singing songs of life’s complexities, struggles, and ultimately, the triumphs.

In 2024, Keys released an emotional standalone single “Need You To Care”, which followed a series of dynamite covers including “Seven Nation Army” (The White Stripes), “I Put A Spell On You” (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins), and “Sweet Dreams” (The Eurythmics). Resonant and raw, 2022’s LP Lessons saw Keys emerge from the pandemic chaos recharged and reborn, leaning into intestinal strength and resilience with more clarity and focus in her compositions. With typically-provocative lyrics dotting the kaleidoscopic album, the biting barbs addressed her own space and place as a queer woman in today’s divided America. In 2018, Talia teamed up with stellar backing ensemble The Love to deliver the demonstrative We’re Here, an iridescent and impactful collection that put Talia’s style and substance on the national radar.

A nascent artist with wide ears and big dreams, Talia Keys released a smattering of solo efforts early in her career; 2015’s Fool’s Gold EP, the live-looping adventures of Gemini Mind (2014), and debut Soak Your Meat In This (2012). Before breaking out on her own musical trip, Keys assumed numerous roles in the seminal funk-jam syndicate Marinade, with whom she logged six years of shenanigans from 2009-2015.

-B. Getz March 2025

Enrique Cesar never needed an answer to life’s many peculiarities. All he wanted to do was enjoy the process of asking those questions and offer back other questions. Wild experiences from his youth, pressing thoughts in his present day, and worries he has for the future have all inspire his anxious and sincere lyricism in his songs. His dynamic guitar-playing all borrows from his influences such as Jim Croce, Dave Van Ronk, and Tony Rice. Born in Ecuador and having moved to and from various places like Miami and London have reminded him plenty how small and chaotic one life can be. However, he’s been fortunate enough to experience a healthy background in music to accompany his journey. Singing in his school choir led him on a trip to Europe to perform in cathedrals. The moment he saw the beautiful Swiss Alpines, he knew thats when he needed to start writing. in And the beautiful chaos is evident in his latest project and debut solo album, The Burrito Years, a 14-song memoir finished in one take to memorialize his acoustic performances through his ten years of songwriting. You’ll find him today playing in multiple bars and venues now in LA with just himself and his guitar, and he always looks forward to the next performance.