Daniel Young is a Salt Lake City, USA-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, sound engineer and producer who has just come to my attention through the release of his fourth album, Leave It Out To Dry.
By Graeme Smith
Opening with the ethereal tones of Desert Air, you can tell straight away that Leave It Out To Dry is country but not as we know it. Fans of the folk traditions and classic artists like John Prine will find a lot to love about it, but there’s a certain je ne sais quoi about Daniel’s sound too that makes it irresistibly captivating.
Though not advanced in his years, Daniel has been crafting music for two decades, and you can tell how he far along the journey to perfection he’s come with this fourth album. Immersive and expansive, he does a lot with his lyrics, while they are beautifully augmented by some rich instrumental compositions. Title track Leave It Out To Dry is a case in point, a vibrant early highlight that speaks its philosophy plainly.
Elsewhere we are treated to some rumbling rock and roll (Help Us Get Along, Have You Ever Died?), dreamy tales of minutiae (Slow Mornings), gentle romanticism (Rosalita) and soul searching (What About The Questions Now). Collectively, the tracks of Leave It Out To Dry ruminate on the subject of death, articulating it with beautiful variation while remaining reassuringly cohesive.
If you like country and folk then Daniel Young’s new record needs to be added to your rotation. If it’s a genre that you’re not usually drawn to, then it might just change your mind. It’s ten tracks of keen observations about the human condition. To whom wouldn’t that appeal?
Leave It Out To Dry was tracked mostly live in the basement of Daniel’s own Orchard Studio, Salt Lake City. You can give it a listen below.