This is a very different Dani Wilde to her last album for Ruf and my first thought was “Whaddaf…..” but her voice fits this new form perfectly and that high, gentle and superbly emotive voice is so well suited to the country/soul crossover you wonder why she didn’t go this way before.
She doesn’t sing in a Linda Lewis or Minnie Riperton falsetto but rather a high and rather sweet tone but there is no shortage of depth or heart and on ‘Loving You’ she goes deep into soul territory.
The album opens with ‘Open Road’, as the name suggests a piece of Americana that sets up nicely for ‘Change Your Mind’ which just drips with sophistication and heartfelt emotions; the electric piano creates a gentle backdrop to her whispery and impassioned pleading.
‘That Ain’t Love’ ratchets the power up a touch and ‘Let Me Be Your Sunshine’ takes it all deeper into country territory with some lovely ‘twang’. ‘Diamond In The Dark’ is just a sublime love song.
This will be a shock to her Blues fans who have not heard this type of material from Ms Wilde before but the clues were there in her gorgeous version of the Everly Brothers classic ‘Love Hurts’ which she released as a single last Xmas. This is music that is properly grown up and one of the better albums I’ve come across this year.
