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13 Shadows
13 Shadows
Denise
Donahue
13 Shadows is a singer/songwriter, pianist, guitarist, producer
and feline magnet. Denise Donahue hails from New York, where she writes, arranges
and co-produces what is called eerie, cinematic, emotionally charged songs.
These tracks cover a variety of content with mixtures of artists in each song.
The album features nine tracks and gets going with “Slide.” The tune
does have that eerie feeling to it right off the bat. The vocals are haunting,
but are hard to hear in places. The song sweeps right along with distinct
drums, guitars, and solid vocals while playing straight to the description. “7
Years” begins with an awesome set of sounds. It offers a whirlwind sound before
the haunting vocals come floating in. The sound of everything together screams
like it would be in a horror flick. It’s extremely eerie and creepy which holds
your attention very well. You really have to pay attention to the vocals to
hear what is being said, because of all the other things flying around. There
is a lot of repeating once you dive into them, but I don’t think it hurts that
track at all. “Descend” is a slow moving track with passionate vocals that will
send shivers down your spine. The music behind the vocals doesn’t do very much
until the back half of the tune. You are just about ready to skip to the next
track when those drums enter. I think this is something that you let play when
it comes on in certain places, like cleaning the house or folding clothes, but
other than that it’s a skip moment. “Out of Phase” is kind of like the last
track. It takes a long time for the music to come into the fold. The vocals are
solid, but you get a little bored with the track. There is no doubt that Denise
has a great voice, but some of the music is lacking thus far. “Kamera” gets a
bit more aggressive in places, but again begins with a slow moving effort. They
introduce some solid tunes a lot sooner than the tracks before this one and
they sound pretty good. There are sounds like there are some computer generated
items in this number which isn’t always bad, but the normal instruments show up
in this one as well. It’s a nice little tune that I can see getting some play
somewhere, however it does seem to last a bit too long. “Energy” is a low key
number with sweeping vocals and simple tunes. It really doesn’t excite you very
much, but offers up passion and well written lyrics. “Belong” gives you more
great vocals as Denise’s voice is silky yet mysterious. Musically there is a little
more intriguing than the previous tune which helps out. It again doesn’t excite
you much, but it keeps you around for a while. The sound is pure and the lyrics
are solid. “Erase U” is a bit upbeat than most of the tracks on this record.
The vocals are much of the same and although the tracks tempo for the most part
is faster, the track does offer up the slower portions. “Broke” wraps up the
album with a song that has the vocals set back in and moves rather slow. It
doesn’t sound that bad as the vocals are crystal clear. I really like the
lyrics; however they do repeat a pretty good bit. Overall the album is not that
bad. It does lack excitement; however the technical aspect of the release is
solid. You can hear the time and effort that went into the writing process. The
vocals are really good and are so soft. That softness is a strong aspect of
this record, but is also something that hurts it at the same time. There needs
to be some more range in the vocals as well some extra things going on in the
music department. The base is there but, I think more needs to be added. The
album needs that spice.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Tracks to Watch:
7 Years and Kamera
Track List:
- Slide
- 7 Years
- Descend
- Out of Phase
- Kamera
- Energy
- Belong
- Erase U
- Broke
Website (s): www.13shadows.net
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