This one keeps me coming back for more...
by
Daniel Isenberg
For her first professional LP, Danni Rosner shines with impressive vocal, musical, and lyrical performances. She improves upon her EP from one year prior with richer recordings and even stronger vocals. There are upbeat and rock-based tracks, mixed in with soft, intimate recordings that have an almost Norah Jones-ish like quality. But Rosner’s vocal range and ability is more expansive. She shows her rock side on tracks like “Piano Actress” and “Before I Crash” channeling early Gwen Stefani, and explores the soulful side of herself on tracks like “Perfect”, which is somewhat comparable to Joss Stone-style vocals. Rosner pulls off all of these angles effectively, and draws her audience in with warm and introspective tracks between just herself and her piano, on “Romantic Acrobat”, “Over The Top”, and “Rock On By”.
“Romantic Acrobat” is a simple and beautiful track, which Rosner sings with confidence, and is daring enough to reveal her vulnerabilities wrapped in her emotional strength. The song is almost a stream of consciousness, as if intended for a diary, from which her sincerity as a songwriter reveals itself. “Over The Top” is similar as piano and vocals alone, but distinct enough to keep from these tracks dragging on and becoming tired or boring. Even though they are stripped-down, Rosner finds a way to keep the listener hooked. “Rock On By” is the closest thing to a lullabye for these tracks, but brings the album to a soulful and controlled close, using clever lyrical imagery (“But we will rock on by/As the judges choose winners of less than noble blood/And we will rock on by/As the smudges on sinners cheeks fade”) to carry it through to the end.
Rosner impresses by using her vocals in other ways as well, proving that she can be successful as a piano-bar lounge singer, jazz/blues vocalist, rocker, or Broadway performer. Tracks like “Piano Actress” display her honesty, attitude, and ability to speak lyrics with melody, choosing to sing with the full strength of her voice, or take a subtle, more playful approach. She sings with impressive vibrato and dynamism, and allows her vocals to soar, as if she were a Broadway star, and does this effectively on different tracks throughout the album. “Not The One” includes an irresistible hook and catchy lyrics that make for easy and enjoyable listening, while “Heart Hold Strong” drowns in desperation and heartache. It feels very heavy with emotion and turmoil, accentuated by a gripping and intense electric blues guitar solo. Rosner is at her best vocally on “Maybe I Should Have Stayed” and “In the City”, where she seems to focus in on her most natural sounding style that makes both these songs excellent for heavy radio play. “Stayed” is sung effortlessly and clearly provides a strong foundation for Rosner’s vocal ability. “In The City” is catchy, personal, emotional, and complex, but with an accessible presentation. She bears herself completely on this track, almost seemingly throwing her hands up in submission – “And it’s all condensed/Into one big mess/And I will confess/I’m not ready, ready to accept.” Although sorrowful and painful at times, a stand out gem.
This time around, Rosner might seem to want to try too many different things on one album. I would not be surprised if future recordings focus on going deeper with one or two of the styles she uses so effectively on this album, as opposed to using four or five. She also puts together three slower songs in the middle of the album, which can slow things down a little too much, despite each track being strong individually.
However, throughout the dozen tracks, her organic pop proves that not much is needed to make great music – a strong, honest voice, well-crafted lyrics and music, and simple instrumentation (no auto-tune required). Rosner may be one big break away from finding herself playing in front of thousands and buying gowns for award shows. One thing that is for certain, however, is that I will be listening.
