Danielle Nicole – The Love You Bleed
My first acquaintance with singer and bassist Danielle Nicole dates back to about eleven years ago when she performed at Qbus in Leiden with her band Trampled Under Foot, with which she made a splash with her brothers Kris and Nick and toured the world ( The Netherlands). At one point, Danielle Nicole Schnebelen went her own way under the name Danielle Nicole and over the years managed to win several Blues Music Awards and even a Grammy nomination as a solo artist. From 2015 to 2018 she released two studio albums and a live album, all of which were received with praise.
It took a few years after that and now finally her fourth album, third studio album, has been released entitled ‘The Love You Bleed’. This contains a total of twelve songs, eleven of which were written by Danielle Nicole herself, with or without collaboration with Brandon Miller, who also plays the guitars, pedal steel and mandolin. We also hear Go-Go Ray on drums, Damon Parker on keys, Tony Braunagel on percussion and Steve Blacke who takes care of the string instruments, while Danielle herself sings and plays the bass. Musically everything is fine and we are somewhere between soul, rock and blues.
One song is a bit heavier, the other is a quiet ballad. Danielle has a beautiful clear soulful voice, which occasionally has that raw edge that is so fitting for this genre. The lyrics are broadly about love, falling in love, heartbreak or not at all. In my opinion, a special mention deserves the rocking blues track ‘Head Down Low’, or the acoustic guitar-only ‘A Love Is Forever’, which is the only cover on the album. ‘Right By Your Side’, with beautiful slide playing by Brandon Miller, and the beautiful ballad ‘Say You’ll Stay’ should also not go unmentioned. A great album with twelve wonderful songs that was worth waiting for. (8/10) (Forty Below Records)
