Dirt Road Angels CD

Dirt Road Angels

Dirt Road Angels

Pump Records DRA01

*****

Five talented female singer-songwriters showcase their music on one amazing album

Dirt Road Angels is a project that sees five hugely talented female Canadian singer-songwriters come together on one album. Each of the five artists performs three tracks showcasing their diverse musical interests and styles.  With a wealth of experience in the music industry these artists are definitely a force to be reckoned with. All of the songs featured are originals.  The overall feel of the album is country but country mixed with other genres. The mixed album is kick started with three songs by Shawna Lynne who is more of a traditional modern country singer. Shawna has performed all over Canada and has opened for many top country acts. Kick Down The Door is a high octane fast tempo song. Shawna’s vocals are strong and easy on the ear. This song is catchy and has some lovely instrumentation, which only serves to enhance the quality of the song. The Dancing Queen is a much slower offering with delicate vocals. Written by Larry Wayne Clark, Shelly Rann and Marc Rosa this is a charming song with heartfelt lyrics. Shawna puts a lot of emotion into the vocals. An outstanding track! I Wish I Was A Train really showcases Shawna’s traditional country sound. Once again delightful vocals make this song a joy to listen to.  Karen Claypool is the second artist to be featured on the CD. Karen’s vocals are distinctive and really interesting. Karen’s music is more pop than country. Titanic was co-written with Rob Hewes and is a pop song with an easy listening sound. Done is a high quality song that really stands out. Lovely vocals, which are quite delicate – never overpowering. This song has a strong country/pop feel and is worthy of a high chart placing. Rewind has an edgy vibe, another strong offering from this talented young lady who sounds a cross between Taylor Swift and Suzanne Vega. Country/rock singer Dahlia Wakefield is the third singer-songwriter to be showcased. Dahlia’s vocals are strong and always entertaining. Unsatisfied is a powerful rocky country song. Dahlia sounds a little like Carrie Underwood on this extremely catchy high class modern country song. Beautiful illustrates how Dahlia can sing both rocky up-tempo songs with class and then swap easily to a delicate charming slow song with angelic vocals. Warming vocals and stripped back instrumentation make this song so delightful. All The Way To Heaven is a pop infused country song. This song is a glorious vocally driven song, a perfect example of what a strong modern country song should sound like! Shila Marie grew up influenced by the music of top selling artists like Dolly Parton and Shania Twain. Shila Marie has a distinctive vocal style. Her vocals are raw and unpolished. Whirlwind is edgy and blends modern country and pop together effortlessly. Her vocals engage the listener because they sound fresh and natural. Love Can’t Be Denied is a slow moody country song. Once again it is the vocals that stand out and give the song depth and character. A delicate emotive song co-written by Shila Marie this is perhaps the main highlight of the whole album. Truly beautiful this song captures the heart and brings a tear to the eye. Be There is a heavier song with a modern country feel to it. All three of Shila Marie’s songs are outstanding and so unique mainly due to her classy vocals. Danita is the final artist on this rather impressive album. All five artists deserve their place on the CD as they all bring something new and interesting to the world of music. Danita is known for combining rock with country to create an edgy upbeat sound. Ripped Jeans is a powerful rock infused country song. Leaning more towards rock than country this song needs to be played with the volume turned up high. Danita has strong powerful vocals that are never consumed by the blasting instrumentation. Co-written by Danita it is worth paying attention to the lyrics of this song as quite a story unfolds throughout the course of the song. Not everyone’s cup of tea, this song is not for the faint hearted. Rare Bird is Danita’s second offering and a pleasant one at that. In complete contrast to Ripped Jeans this is a slow offering with an interesting sound. Worthy of more than one airing. I Did It For Love brings the album to a close. Although there are fifteen songs on the album time seems to fly and the ending comes all too soon. I Did It For Love is a crazy, heavy rock/country song. A really punchy song to end the album on. All in all it is obvious that all five of these ladies are really talented in their respective fields of music. There are so many stand out songs on this album and much praise can be heaped on each individual singer-songwriter. A very worthy project this album will hopefully encourage music fans to look out for further albums by all five of the featured artists in the months to come.