Boy Scouts

An outlet for the brittle, introspective songs of singer/songwriter Taylor Vick, Boy Scouts emerged in 2010 with the sparse mini-album garagebandaid. Accompanied mainly by acoustic guitar and the occasional drums or glockenspiel, her bedroom folk remained a solo pursuit until 2019's Free Company. The project's first studio recording, the album arranged her dreamy reflections for a full electric band and included collaborators. Co-producer Stephen Steinbrink returned for the similarly expanded Wayfinder in 2021. Raised in California's Central Valley, Taylor Vick started playing the guitar in the fourth grade. Having grown up on country music, and inspired by acoustic acts like the Dixie Chicks and Michelle Branch whom she heard on the radio, she soon started writing her own songs. Named for the recording app she used to make her Boy Scouts debut, the seven-track garagebandaid was written and recorded entirely by Vick, who shared it online in January 2010. She relocated to the Bay Area before recording more songs. The three-track Boy Scouts EP 3 appeared in 2015 and was followed a year later by her first full-length, Homeroom Breakfast. Released in the first half of 2017, the EP C Sides included songs in various stages of completion. Later that year, the mini-album Hobby Limit was still written, performed, and recorded entirely by Vick. It received cassette releases by Oakland-based Processional Cross in the U.S. and Super Fan 99 in the U.K. Another EP, Mood Rings, arrived in 2018. Working with collaborators for the first time, the breakup-inspired full-length Free Company was co-produced by Vick and singer/songwriter Stephen Steinbrink, who also played on the album. Released by Epitaph imprint Anti- in August 2019, its other guests included Rose Droll (piano) and drummers Nikolas Soelter and Chase Kamp on limited tracks. She followed it with a North American tour in support of Jay Som. Another collaborative album recorded with Steinbrink, Wayfinder, was issued by Anti- in September 2021. Among its guests were Jay Som's Melina Duterte and Vick's brother Travis.
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