Reviews

dana wylie

Right this, I promise, isn't an all out comparison, in fact it's not even a ‘sounds like'. Dana Wylie is to Norah Jones a true contemporary in the sense that she seriously knows how to lay down a melody, and (which is more intoxicating) collude with her piano and guitar in creating something far greater than a song.

At the pub tonight, it's rather busy. This must partly be accredited to the fact that someone in the Dana posse myspaced their arses off, but generally there's a lot of people here that've had the pleasure of listening to this seriously on-it, genuinely beautifully toned singer before. I've only had a fleeting listen on the Myspace page recently, and while I was expecting good things, I wasn't expecting anything quite so ridiculously good as this. As a band, the trio have obviously gigged extensively, and it pays dividends - a tightness and confidence of performance which maintains a reliable backdrop to a mixture of song writing and kick ass solos. As a word, Americana is a pretty crap one - especially as these guys are from Canada, but it gives you an idea. Throw in some blues and folk and you get a bit closer. The visit the set plays to bluegrass ("I'm not going to play second fiddle to your guitar") is definitely welcome, and not least because it strengthens any likeness to Norah. In fact the band have a firm command of anything they turn their hands to making it their own with no room for doubt.
Nye parsons is an incredible upright bass player. He really is seriously entertaining, and the dexterity of his fingers is a captivating performance in itself. Equally impressive is drummer Jeremy Hellard's pleasingly frequent harmonica solos which add another dimension to the sound, and generally make you feel very blues-happy indeed.

Persuading a Porter sound engineer to work past eleven is impressive enough, but to make one sway (it's definitely almost a bob) and smile is sheer virtuosity For this I applaud you Dana Wylie Band. The album ‘The Unruly Ones' is out now on Tiny White Girl Records and is very good indeed but if you get a chance make sure you go and see these guys live.

Chris Chislett