Country radio listeners may recognize Amy Dalley from her days recording for Curb Records, during which she released several low-charting singles, with her highest being 2004’s #23-peaking “Men Don’t Change.” Due to the disappointing chart performance of her singles, Curb Records shelved the album, and Dalley later exited the Curb roster in 2008. Finally, she released the album It’s Time in 2009 via digital retailers. The follow-up Coming Out of the Pain has recently been released on Dalley’s own label Madjack Records (via Rock Ridge Music).
Dalley’s songwriting is characterized by naked honesty and straightforwardness in tackling everyday emotional conflicts. As suggested by its title, Coming Out of the Pain largely deals with the ins and outs of stormy relationships. While the bird-flipping brashness of raucous album opener “Peace Sign” may be a turnoff for some, the song earns points for creating a realistically flawed and vulnerable character whom has been discourteously dumped by her boyfriend via email. Closing track “Some Goodbye” finds Dalley sounding genuinely bewildered by the insensitivity of her ex and she pines “What a way to break me.” On “I May Love You Now,” she warns her noncommittal lover that “I may love you now, but that don’t mean I will.” Through such material, a thread of emotional angst is woven throughout the record, with an emphasis on empowerment that comes to a head on the moving-on-themed title track.
Though Dalley’s past efforts have shown her to be a capable vocalist, Coming Out of the Pain finds her at times attempting to tackle melodies that collide with her limited range, and she wanders off pitch quite a few times in the course of this album. This is particularly noticeable on cuts like “Breakin’ It Down” and “Damage Is Done,” which find Dalley straining to reach high notes that make her voice sound thinner than it is. Likewise, party rocker “Saturday Night Situation” embraces a shouted-out style that highlights Dalley’s vocal imperfections instead of covering over them. Quite a few of the album’s tracks utilize an audacious “wall of sound” production that often tends to be to her disservice as a vocalist.
And yet, when she stays within her limits, Dalley can be quite effective on an interpretive level. A definite album standout is the ballad “Somebody Said It Rained,” which deals with the rekindling of a weathered marital relationship – a theme which Dalley tackles with earnestness. The song also benefits from a hook concept that is thoughtful and creative: The couple spends their entire vacation indoors “wrapped up in a blanket for three days,” blissfully unaware that it’s raining the entire time. Though the sprightly, mandolin-laced, happy-go-lucky “Bottle It Up” could do without the echoey background vocals, it conversely shows that Dalley can slip into a loose and upbeat mood with ease.
While the sonic treatment tends to be uneven in places, Dalley’s lyrics often provide redemption, and she turns in an overall solid set of songs. But while her solid songwriting chops remain on ample display, Coming Out of the Pain could stand to be a little more refined, and a lot less loud.
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