Title: The Devil You Know (EP)
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Released: June 2014
Reviewed By: Millie Manders
I don't often do a track by track review, but in this case I felt it was a necessary choice.
Dan is a singer songwriter hailing from Colchester and his first offering to the world ain't bad.
In Forts, we have disarmingly sweet lyrics about innocence in childhood, being a boy interacting with their surroundings and then growing up and getting a girl. Tinted with sadness about his experiences at home, this is a tearjerker for sure.
Dug In Deep: An upbeat song with a heartbreak backstory. Dan has a great way of creating a vivid picture of his experiences whilst delivering very listenable tunes. There's a lovely combination of acoustic and electric guitars that manage to paint a sunny sky with the occasional dark cloud. There is no percussion, yet again, this track has beautiful rhythm.
Dan's vocals are soft and sweet, raw with emotion. Not pitch perfect all the time and occasionally stretched but this gives it a wonderfully natural, home grown feel perfect for the style of music.
Get Your Own Taun Taun: A Star Wars geek's love story. The references are endearing. A pretty genius move. It's a lovely piece of unique song writing in a genre that can inevitably get a little samey.
The Devil You Know sounds a little out of tune, but from the lyrics “clumsy chords I play” I'm wondering if it is intentional? Not my favourite track and a little uncomfortable to listen to which is a shame because the lyrics, yet again, are lovely.
Into The Void: Dan's sing-a-long. A 3/4 , upbeat song that will have you swaying along. The synth at the end of the track is way too loud in the mix and is a bit of a shock to the system. It's a real shame as this is a song I can imagine happily raising a beer and shouting it out at the end of the night but wouldn't necessarily want to hear it on my playlist.
Overall Dan is clearly a talented writer and guitarist. I will be interested to hear any further releases.
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