It's always a pleasure to discover talent I've never heard of before, but Denise La Grassa is new to me and a real talent.
Her voice is rich, imbued with accents from all the places she's called home — Wisconsin, Chicago, Europe — and she writes songs that are blues-style but with vaudeville phrasing, reminiscent of Maria Muldaur in places but also blending with Joni Mitchell.
These songs are about more than typical blues themes: she touches on racism, social media, politicians, gun violence and more, all sung within a blues, and sometimes gospel, framework.
But above all, this is a musical journey, colorful and full of the best. Her vocals on “The Door” are rich and soulful, giving off a real stage musical vibe, while the background music brings her dark lyrics to the fore. The title track references America's “sundowntown” where non-whites were instructed to leave town before sundown, alluding to the racism and segregation still prevalent in many areas.
So it's not your typical love song, but on my favorite track, “Hope In Love,” with its gospel-inspired backing vocals, sharp guitar work and funky backbeat, he sings that love is “the reason we live/the reason we die/the reason we give,” and on “Loving For Love's Sake,” he sings, “If you're living in hell, hate is/Ain't loving for love's sake.”
New talent is always worth checking out, and this is a great album worth investigating.