Self Release [Release date : 07.03.24]

‘Explore The Layers’ is essentially a double album of catchy pop-rock songs with a reggae and funky influences.

Helpfully subtitled ‘Songs About Life & Love’, it’s a concept album of love songs of which she contirbutes to 14 of the 16 songs.

And if at times they feel like the pages of a diary, they are sublimely illuminated by Danielle Morgan’s ability to hit a note, extend a vowel and get inside the emotion of a lyric.

Mostly reflective and spanning the full spectrum of optimism to the opposite, ‘Explore the Layers’ is potentially a very good solo album in search of better sequencing and a decent production.

6 tracks come from her 2 EP releases, while presumably the rest is newer material.

The album opens in the celebratory count-in of ‘I’m Coming Home’, a melodic tune with an uplifting universally relateable lyric.

‘I’m In Love With You’ is a historic love story with an enchanting melody with a country rock feel and a killer opening line: “The harbour it’s our place, the first time I saw your face. The kisses you gave me would they be enough to save me.”

And yet the song doesn’t get beyond the titular declaration of love, with a repeated opening verse and, strong musical bridge, perhaps reflecting the fact it was originally part of a theatre piece.

The album cleverly balances some uplifting moments with some meditative introspection. However, it is robbed of making a bigger impact partly due to the sheer number of songs, and more particularly a lack of sharper sequencing.

The most glaring example of that is the fact that the best track on the album comes last.

The Dave Barbour penned ‘Selfish Girl’ is a stomp led groove and radio friendly pop song, which you could imagine Tom Petty or Graham Parker might have covered.

It also benefits from a ‘live in the studio’ finish with John Merrigan’s vibrant percussion, a fiery guitar solo and Danielle’s ad lib “I think that a rap,” which probably explains its placement as the closing track.

At times the album feels like an aggregate of songs rather than a coherent work of art, but we’re never more than a half-step away from Morgan’s beguiling voice.

She’s at her best on ‘It Doesn’t Matter’, on which her delicate phrasing is matched by cool dynamics, Rob McCann’s lyrical harp playing and Dave Barbour’s crafted solo.

Her expiatory rhythms suggest an unresolved emotion, while the gentle finish evokes the pathos of the closing lyric: “It doesn’t matter anymore, just walk away.”

They opt for a soulful reggae arrangement on ‘Vera’, built round a catchy titular hook with an accented rhythm guitar.

They extend the joyful Caribbean feel on ‘Right A Wrong’, with a bass, and snare driven wah-wah groove fattened by what sounds like steel pans.

The track serves to lift the album as a whole by bringing musical versatility to bear on the different lyrical perspectives of love.

The band rocks harder on the reflective ‘Stay Proud’, though in truth it sounds a tad under produced.

A Dave Gilmour style guitar figure gives ‘On The Path’ a much warmer feel, but the song is all about Morgan’s expansive phrasing and her ability to connect with a lyric: “Stay here a while and I wont object, gives me the time to pause and reflect.”

‘Love Me Hold Me’ is all about the potency of a repeated hook, while the fragile lyrics of ‘What About Me’ showcase another fine vocal on an emotive love song: “Where will I go, where have I been, how can there be, a world without him. Why did you leave, what did I do, what did I learn, what do I know?”

The lyrical conclusion is fashioned by a cathartic vocal swoop which takes the song into an accapella finish: “Time to move on, time to let go, time to explore, this world on my own.”

‘Explore The Layers’ rises above its numerical density with lilting melodies, fine band interplay and Morgan’s consistent husky timbre and effortless range.

The band excels on ‘Magpie Song’, a jazzy groove on which she gives part of the old ‘One For Sorrow’ nursery rhyme a Rickie Lee Jones treatment, with Brian Hughes subtle piano accompaniment.

The album also gains momentum from the tightly arranged ‘So Long Ago’, which is a perfect vehicle for Morgan’s animated vocal.

It’s a good story telling narrative with great phrasing in which she extends her powerful vocal into the chorus.

The band finally jams out on ‘Blame It On Your Youth’, a drifting wah-wah tinged reggae groove which provides dreamy backdrop to more mellow reflections.

‘Explore The Layers’ is well worth your attention and with so much on offer there’s something for everyone. ***½

Review by Pete Feenstra

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)