With a name like Melvern Taylor, a band called the Fabulous Meltones, and a voice as smooth, airy and rounded as a tropical breeze, it’s hard to resist using words like mellifluous, mellow and meltingly beautiful to describe the suite of songs Taylor introduced to a welcoming audience at the Press Room on July 19. Taylor and his crew took the stage with an ease that matched the lazy summer evening, playing to a welcoming audience, including some who made the trek from Taylor’s hometown of Lowell, Mass. The Meltones set the tropical mood in matching guyaberas, while Taylor kept up his usual high sartorial standard in a black suit, wide red-and-black tie with natty pin, and ever-present porkpie hat.

Celebrating the re-release of “Fabuloso,” this time on Platform One, the show featured almost all 12 tracks from the album. These were sweetly catchy tunes, paired with note-perfect lead and backing vocals that communicate but never overstate.

Taylor’s influences—anything under the umbrella of 20th-century American pop—were discernible, but never dominated enough to hide the originality of the Meltones’ smooth combo sound. Wisps of Beatle-esque melodies, Elvis Costello-ish vocals, and doo-wop rhythm bass and wailing flitted by, each contributing a little musical nostalgia to the overall effect, but never getting in the way. Taylor’s floaty ukulele threaded the varied elements together like flowers on a lei.

Though the band created a smooth, pleasant wave-on-the-beach wash of sound, listeners were rewarded by staying focused on listening to the wit and heart of Taylor’s well-crafted lyrics. The love songs—just about all of them, that is—are achingly pretty but stay far from the saccharine. These are realistic love songs, clever and honest, talking of love fueled by “gas station roses and screw-top wine” and sheepishly sharing stories of bar hookups with ladies described as “100 pounds of silicone and heroin.” The blend of grit and gorgeousness, put over the top by Taylor’s straightforward delivery and the band’s polished, relaxed musicianship, was one-of-a-kind.

This early show ran 7-9, with a well-matched opening performance from Elroy that provided a smooth transition to Taylor’s combo. No one wanted to move at the close of the show, so afterwards, the band relaxed with listeners around the Press Room tables, passing what remained of the summer evening with a crowd that couldn’t stop smiling because of the fabulous mood they’d set.