Unobliterated is the music project of England-born and now Portugal-based singer-songwriter and musician Gary Taylor, who’s been making music for many years in one form or another under various guises. While living in the UK, he started out making EDM/Ambient music under the name Agent Orange just for fun, never releasing any of it. Then he played in a number of bands – most recently The Tasers, with whom he served as songwriter – who recorded a few demo tracks though nothing was ever officially released. After relocating to Portugal partly in response to Brexit, Gary felt like he still had some unfinished business with regard to making music, as he had a few songs he’d started during his time with The Tasers that had never been fully developed or recorded. Discovering how easy it was to release music on platforms like Spotify, Bandcamp, YouTube, etc., he dubbed his project “Unobliterated” and began releasing alternative pop-rock songs in March 2024, starting with “Truth is Nothing” and “Slipping Through Your Fingers”.

When I asked Gary about his unusual moniker, he explained: “I came across the word ‘Unobliterated’ many years ago on a Dymo label – I just found it at a bus stop along with a bunch of other unused labels. I absolutely fell in love with the word [at first it appears ridiculous but you definitely can make it work in a sentence] and the question of why it was there in the first place, and geekily named my music making computer ‘Unobliterated’, and that tradition carried on until this day. So when it came to finding a name, that was top of my shortlist and won out when I was able to verify that there were no other Unobliterated artists.“

He continued releasing more singles throughout 2024 and into 2025, and today returns with “light years apart“, a majestic song he describes as a “tale of love, loss, fragility, pain and the [misplaced] hope we often cling to in desperate times.” Gary wrote and recorded the song, played guitar and programmed synths, and sang lead and backing vocals, with his wife Anna providing additional backing vocals. The track was mixed and Mastered by Charles Connolly.

To drive home his message, Unobliterated starts with a haunting melody driven forward by a strong pulsating groove, then layers swirling atmospheric synths and warm guitar notes, creating a mesmerizing backdrop for his arresting vocals that masterfully convey a sense of both despair and hopeful optimism. I really like his marvelous vocals that go from breathy and sensuous to plaintive and impassioned, as well as his and Anna’s subtle harmonies in the choruses. “light years apart” is a great song, and I think it’s one of his best yet.

Oceans of empty bottles can’t drown the thoughts of you
Red eyes and chemicals in smoky rooms don’t blur these apparitions
My Skies grow darker now, day by day
Storms flush my colours out and turn my world to grey

Oh I’m devastated to my core
But tell me are you really sure
Why don’t you hear me out
why don’t you give me just one more try
And maybe… We can take it back to the start,
we’re only light years apart and I would bend space for you

Memories that taunt and tear me down, deride my hollow virtues
Caught in this clouded mirror; fading echoes of a better man
Oh these scars run deeper now, every day
As tortured fragments of my soul are ground to dust and blown away

Let’s take a minute to gather all the moments we have scattered to the wind
We don’t know how the story ends but let’s turn the page and see how it begins
Yeah I would bend space and time; turn water to wine.
I’d take it back to the start; we’re only light years apart
and I am light speed

Oh I’m devastated to my core
But tell me are you really sure
Why don’t you hear me out
why don’t you give me just one more try
And maybe… We can take it back to the start,
we’re only light years apart and I would bend space for you

And here’s the song on Spotify:

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Find his music on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube