Last year I reviewed the six-track EP ‘Influence’ by Kirsty Dewar, and now she has returned with her debut album and a slight change in name. Two of the songs from that EP, “Influence” and “Dance With Your Shadows”, have been revisited and are here along with another nine. My wife’s favourite singer is Kelly Clarkson with P!nk not too far behind, so I played this in the car for her the other day and after a while I was told to go back to the beginning, turn it up and stop talking as she was really enjoying it. At the time of the EP Kirsty told me she felt her music was a cross between Imagine Dragons, P!nk and Evanescence, but there is no doubt Clarkson and probably also T’pau have had an influence.
This is modern pop rock with some funk influences here and there which is bright and refreshing, perfect for the summer or the radio. There are some strong Eighties keyboard styles at times which made me smile, but I guess in the pop context these will feel fun and new now. I deliberately played this to my wife as her tastes are way more mainstream than mine, and very oriented to this style of music, and she really enjoyed not only the music but the lyrics which have some interesting depth to them. On one level this is a perfect pop album with a singer not moving to far away from the norm, but there is far more than just a surface layer with this as there is much to discover, and the more I played it the more I enjoyed it. I can see this becoming one of those albums which is often listened to when we are both in the car as our tastes overlap in this area, and this high polished and well-constructed release will surely find Dewar getting the attention and acclaim she so richly deserves.
Rating: 9/10
