by
Rob Jones
This summer marks twenty years since Donna Lewis, the Welsh singer / songwriter, shot to international stardom with her 1996 hit ‘I love You Always Forever’. It also sees the release of Donna’s fifth studio album, on June 17th-and, there is a nod to jazz on this smooth set.
”Brand New Day” contains three originals (the languid “Sleep”, the title track “Brand New Day” and a ruminative reworking of “I Love You Always Forever”) as well as eight expertly handled covers, including the fantastical latter-David Bowie number “Bring Me the Disco King”, Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’, Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talkin’ at Me,” and Damien Rice’s “Amie.”
The record marks a bold departure from Donna’s last electro-pop release, 2008’s In the Pink, as she explores a more stripped-down acoustic sound, recorded with the expert help of one of the world’s finest contemporary jazz trios, Ethan Iverson – piano; Reid Anderson – bass and Dave King – drums.
BRAND NEW DAY – TRACKLIST
1. Sleep (written by Donna Lewis)
2. Bring Me The Disco King (written by David Bowie)
3. Crazy (written by Brian Joseph Burton, Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, Gian Piero Reverberi, Gianfranco Reverberi)
4. Waters of March (written by Antonio Carlos Jobim)
5. Brand New Day (written by Donna Lewis)
6. Everybody’s Talkin’ At Me (written by Fred Neil)
7. Helpless (written by Neil Young)
8. Amie (written by Damien George Rice)
9. I Love You Always Forever (written by Donna Lewis)
10. Walk on By (written by Burt Bacharach & Hal David)
11. My Mom (written by Marc Anthony Thompson)
