Single Review - Lights Of Our Hometown - Danny McMahon

We first met Danny McMahon in the camping field at Buckle and Boots in 2018 and since that first encounter we have seen him perform, and introduced him on to festival stages, many times.  As a performer Danny is probably best known for his energetic shows, his big personality on stage - wherever he is and however large the crowd is

With his new single, his first duet, it is a joy to hear the softer side of Danny.  Lights Of Our Hometown is undoubtedly Danny – his voice is instantly recognisable although this time out it seems a little more mature. The instrumentation is his brand of modern country and the pairing with Nashville based Jenny Grace is spot on as their voice complement each other, and the song, perfectly.

The theme is love, old love, the type of love that just never dies, held in place by memories expressed perfectly by the title “Lights of our hometown” – it is great imagery!  The pacing of the song, the guitar at the back, the softness of Jenny’s vocals all come together to make the whole song feel like the memory that it is describing, the up-tempo chorus jolting us back to reality and to the present.

The production is – as always with anything from Danny – spot on.  The song has had its own journey, from Canada where co-writer Ryan James is based, to Nashville to collect Jenny’s sublime vocals to Puzzle Maker studios in Bristol for it all to come together.  A Transatlantic duet can’t be easy, but you would easily believe that these two were sharing a recording studio - and sharing a memory of the Lights of their Hometown!

Well written, well produced and well performed, this will have you swaying along with bursts of foot tapping.  Will live shows feature a guest to duet?  Here’s hoping!

Lights of Our Hometown, the new single from Danny McMahon featuring Jenny Grace is available from Friday 22 October on all usual platforms.

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Single Review - Sounds Good In A Bar - Katy Hurt

 

Katy Hurt’s new song – Sounds Good In A Bar – is so real it just jumps out and grabs you, by the ears and by the heart!

Real, in that the vocal, the instrumentation are exactly what you expect from a Country song (and that steel, oh that steel!)

Real in that the pace and tone absolutely transport you to a bar at night, perhaps close to closing time when the staff are cleaning up and reflecting on the night and on how they got there

Real in that the story of working in a bar, or a diner, or a gas station while pursuing your dream is absolutely spot on.

Katy has based this new track on her own experiences of working odd jobs – and the writing can only have come from genuine experiences.  There is a wistfulness to the words and the performance that not only captures the dreaming and wishing that all performers feel while waiting for their big break but also captures the late-night bar feeling.  Anyone who has worked behind a bar will recognise their own life in this song, anyone who has tried to make it in the industry will recognise the “If I could just”

If I could just get the crowd singing along

With that one line you can sense the longing, just one step to getting out of this bar, just one step to your dreams, just one step to success.

It isn’t a dance along song, it won’t have you out of your seat, but Sounds Good In A Bar will have you singing along from the heart, drinks (served by the dreaming bartender) waved in the air and it might even make you think about your own dreams.

 

Another drink please bartender, another step, another dream.

 

Sounds Good In A Bar, the new single from Katy Hurt is available to download and stream from Friday 8 October

Find and follow Katy on Facebook, Instagram, her website and on Spotify

You can also see Katy on her current Face to Face tour

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EP Review - Medicate - Emilia Quinn

 

It hard to believe that anyone who follows the UK country scene is unaware that Emilia Quinn is releasing her new EP this week – an almost unprecedented promotional campaign started back in July and has featured guest comments on the tracks, photo shoots and lots of social media posts.

Billed as “The most personal EP to date”, Medicate is Emilia’s 3^rd EP release.  Her first – “Wrote Off” - followed her stunning debut at Buckle and Boots CMF  in  2019 and showcased Emilia’s vocals, her second – “Firecracker” - seemed to show her gritty, raw true self.  Sam Coe loved it, and described the music as “new outlaw country” and commented on the gruffness of Emilia’s voice and the traditional elements to her sound.

 

So how does EP 3 measure up?  Has Emilia found her sound?  Well, yes – and no.

Yes, in that her voice is still fantastic, and the traditional country sound is certainly there, especially with the fabulous pedal steel provided by Steven Hicken Jr.

No, because she has changed the style again, away from the gritty delivery of Firecracker.

With the new EP, Emilia has gone deep inside herself, writing about the pains and struggles of coping in the pandemic hit world of the past eighteen months, with reference to vices and coping strategies, leading to the EP title Medicate and the various track names – Worse than Whisky, High, Pretty Pink Pills and Head Rush, backed up by the imagery that has accompanied the press for this release.  Covid-19 has provided a rich seam for songwriters.

 

The first track Worse Than Whiskey is opened with a slow drum beat, and the tempo continues throughout the song.  The drum is almost jarring although the pedal steel cuts through to give the song a Country authenticity.  The vocal is also slow, almost despairing. The vice here is a relationship, with a nod to alcohol dependency.  High is almost light by comparison, acoustic guitar setting the tone, with a much lighter vocal.  The sound and the style have shades of Kacey Musgraves, the lyrics are a little Brandy Clark – in fact you can almost work your way through the current roster of contemporary female singer songwriters while listening to this track.  Pretty Pink Pills is huskier, with the vocal very much leading over a softer instrumentation while Head Rush possibly owes a little to Girl Crush.

 

Overall, this project feels a little like Kacey Musgraves’ 2018 album Golden Hour.  A change of style, an introspective album and not quite in the confines of previous releases or the genre.

 

Medicate isn’t a release that will be belted out to rock a festival stage as Firecracker was, but it is an EP that demonstrates Emilia’s versatility and willingness to try different styles and write from the heart. 

Open and honest, we’ll leave the final words to Emilia

 

Medicate, the new EP from Emilia Quinn is available to stream and download from Friday 8 October

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