Sandy Dane has been mentioned on our blog quite a few times lately. Recently her new single One Way Ticket was released and her official debut album “Beautiful & Ugly” was released last friday. And while the release show was a success, let us take a closer look at the actual album.
The sweet, dreamy pop songs we hear on “Beautiful & Ugly” have enormous radio potential. You can immediately hear that Dane’s vocals are the focal point on this CD. While the songs don’t have the intensity they have in a live rendition, the round, poppy melodies and clear vocals still give you a summer feel.
Radio singles Beautiful & Ugly and One Way Ticket are well chosen and stick in your head pretty much right away. Other songs that can potentially become radio hits are Better Than Before which has a strong chorus, Sunday Sunshine which has a very recognizable guitar riff, the Sara Bareilles-esque Waiting For Love and Mr. Pianoman, which is an instant sing along.
The album also features her breakthrough songs Peace, Love & Icecream and Lay Down which still rank among the album’s strongest songs. You can see I already mentioned half the album as possible radio singles. This is the main reason why I believe this album could be a great success for Sandy Dane. The songs are very mainstream and commercially attractive, but they are still real songs. Sometimes you lean more towards pop artist, sometimes more towards singer/songwriter, so the conclusion is that Dane found a very good balance between the two and this style fits her very well.
“Beautiful & Ugly” might be one of this year’s ultimate feel good albums. It’s a bit sweet and bubbly, but hey, if it sounds good and it makes you feel good, why would that be a bad thing? Songs to check out would be This Heart of Mine, One Way Ticket, Peace Love & Icecream and Mr. Pianoman, though if you like 1 or 2 of the songs on the album, you will like the rest of it too. All in all the album is pretty strong. Sometimes the song choices may be a little safe and I would be interested in hearing Sandy Dane be a little more diverse and incorporate more from other styles like soul, blues, jazz or even a little rock & roll. Sometimes you can somewhat hear a little bit of an influences from such a direction but with her powerful vocals I would think she could go there more without losing her pop potential. Having said that, starting out with a solid record of songs that fit you as an artist is a smart choice and the result is something Dane can be proud of!
The sweet, dreamy pop songs we hear on “Beautiful & Ugly” have enormous radio potential. You can immediately hear that Dane’s vocals are the focal point on this CD. While the songs don’t have the intensity they have in a live rendition, the round, poppy melodies and clear vocals still give you a summer feel.
Radio singles Beautiful & Ugly and One Way Ticket are well chosen and stick in your head pretty much right away. Other songs that can potentially become radio hits are Better Than Before which has a strong chorus, Sunday Sunshine which has a very recognizable guitar riff, the Sara Bareilles-esque Waiting For Love and Mr. Pianoman, which is an instant sing along.
The album also features her breakthrough songs Peace, Love & Icecream and Lay Down which still rank among the album’s strongest songs. You can see I already mentioned half the album as possible radio singles. This is the main reason why I believe this album could be a great success for Sandy Dane. The songs are very mainstream and commercially attractive, but they are still real songs. Sometimes you lean more towards pop artist, sometimes more towards singer/songwriter, so the conclusion is that Dane found a very good balance between the two and this style fits her very well.
“Beautiful & Ugly” might be one of this year’s ultimate feel good albums. It’s a bit sweet and bubbly, but hey, if it sounds good and it makes you feel good, why would that be a bad thing? Songs to check out would be This Heart of Mine, One Way Ticket, Peace Love & Icecream and Mr. Pianoman, though if you like 1 or 2 of the songs on the album, you will like the rest of it too. All in all the album is pretty strong. Sometimes the song choices may be a little safe and I would be interested in hearing Sandy Dane be a little more diverse and incorporate more from other styles like soul, blues, jazz or even a little rock & roll. Sometimes you can somewhat hear a little bit of an influences from such a direction but with her powerful vocals I would think she could go there more without losing her pop potential. Having said that, starting out with a solid record of songs that fit you as an artist is a smart choice and the result is something Dane can be proud of!