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DanaMaria – Desert Diamond

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

DanaMaria - Desert Diamond

DanaMaria - Desert Diamond
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very nicely done, versatile country sounds made in Germany
  • Long album (13 songs / 50 minutes)
  • Lovely voice

Flyctory.com Cons

  • I feel DanaMaria can do even better

Just ten days before she is releasing her debut album Desert Diamond, I introduced you to the promising German country music artist DanaMaria in the my Spotlight interviews. The album will be released on 23rd October 2020. I received a copy right before that date and was absolutely curious how Desert Diamond will sound like. Here are my thoughts.

 

DanaMaria – About The Artist

DanaMaria just turned 27 about a week before the album release. She is based and grew up in the Frankfurt (Main) region. In the recent interview on Flyctory.com, we however also chatted a lot about Austin, Texas, where DanaMaria has familiar connections and thus is located there very frequently. She already gained quite some popularity in Germany, including TV appearance. After one EP release, Light Up Your Light, in 2018, Desert Diamond is her debut album.

 

DanaMaria – Desert Diamond – Track by Track

The 13 track album lasts 50 minutes.

1. Drama Queen

The first track of the album starts rather quiet, before the catchy chorus spreads some country pop spirit with a touch of rock. I just enjoy to listen to her story, though I feel that it is a rather slow start, compared to stronger songs on the album.

2. Ease Made Easy

Country traditionalists may want to state that this track a bit on the pop-ish side, but Ease Made Easy, a song about being in love, just catches me and makes me smile. Lovely song, very melodic and nice presence of DanaMaria’s voice as well.

3. Desert Diamond

When we chatted about the album, I asked DanaMaria, why Desert Diamond became the title track of the album, She replied I basically wanted an album title that is catchy and easy to understand. That creates an image in peoples heads. Happy to say that the slightly slower, but very rhythmic and groovy track also leaves a good impression as a song as well.

4. Boots for Heels

Boots or high heels? DanaMaria clearly states I never ever trade my boots for heels. How could a country music blogger not like that statement? A Nashville recording, which definitely makes you feel the Cumberland River touch.

5. Girl With The Guitar

The promo package of the album clearly states This is MY song. It is about me, about songwriting. […] Typical country song, four chords and a simple text[…]. Nothing to add – apart from that I really love to listen to Girl With The Guitar.

6. Kingfisher feat. Romie

For this track, DanaMaria is partnered by a German folk music duo, Romie. The result is a slow, but quite intense song with a nice melody.

7. State of Mind

State of Mind is one of the coolest tracks of the album to me. The present rhythm, the altered voice gives a very unique and characteristic sound on the album. The song praises Austin – and it does it in a lovely way.

8. Come to Grief

After some rather “soft” tracks, Come to Grief is darker, more rocking, more powerful. Being a bit of dark and bad suits DanaMaria – at least in this song of the album. Cool chorus as well, which has quite a traditional, groovy touch.

9. Cry Baby

Cry Baby is not at all a break up love song, but in fact means the wahwah pedal used by guitarists, The song is a good mood party song with a powerful guitar bridge – DanaMaria will dance to it in boots, as we already learned in the fourth track.

10. Train Song

The second-longest track on the album (4:49 minutes) is quite a groovy blues track with a country music touch and even some train sounds scattered in the background. It is indeed a song about a missed train – to me, the Train Song is one of the tracks with the most beautiful presence of DanaMaria’s voice.

11. Texas Flood

Texas Flood is a motivating track about getting up again after tough luck (like the 2017 Texas floods). The song also refers to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s song with the same title. Groovy and partially quite dark and rocking.

12. Sunday

Another country-blues track, also the only track which is longer than five minutes. Just close your eyes and enjoy as I did during listening.

13. Sound of Love (Acoustic)

The album closes with an acoustic and fragile track. I fell in love to the voice of DanaMaria while listening to the Desert Diamond album, so this one feels like the perfect finish to me.

 

DanaMaria – Desert Diamond – Spotify

Here is the Spotify link to DanaMaria’s debut album:

 

DanaMaria – Desert Diamond – My View

So good to see that the country music scene in Germany is having their talents as well. I feel gifted to have been listening to so much good country music from my home country this year. DanaMaria may not be as genius in songwriting as The Cumberland River Project album or not that extremely professionally pushed and produced like Van de Forst’s Unconditional – DanaMaria is rather impressing with her characteristic voice, a very authentic Southern State touch (just profiting from her Austin connection) and a very nice variety of moods and atmospheres. I definitely enjoy listening to her – though I also see some potential to be even better next time.

 

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