Downie – Unavailable
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Downie/121552454596379
Downie has been singing in front of audiences since she was a very small girl. She began her formal vocal training as a young teenager performing classical , pop and jazz music. Whether in a recording studio or live, Downie is a seasoned vocalist with a wide range, able to execute all genre’s of music with emotional depth and creativity. Downie received rave reviews in Japan where for four years she performed to sell out crowds in the clubs and hotels. She also performed with on the Dennis Bono show Live In Las Vegas with Grammy winning singer, Crystal Gayle. Her latest single is called “Unavailable.”
Downie comes as a breath of fresh air when the likes of such singers are hard to come by in this day and age. It kicks off with the vocals immediately dominating the song. This features a smooth backing track that she just flows so well with that you almost miss what’s going on with the music. It harkens back to the soft rock of the 70s without sounding dated, and that is the mark of a true professional. And it’s a nice way to explain how relationships work when they simply can’t because someone is out of reach, and you can’t force something there is no chance at. This is a light hearted approach to an actual serious subject, showing the best way to handle it. Her voice is as smooth as the music as they work together in equal strength, but the strength comes in a subtle fashion. There is a total abandon to her energy and I haven’t heard anything like this since “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone” by Paula Cole. And that was quite a few years back. It instantly rings of something like that, which many still long for in the adult contemporary world. If you don’t go back that far, this can still bring you to the same place I’m speaking of. Downie has a way of fitting old and new shoes here with a track that embodies a lot of contemporary but classic soul, as the snare drum keeps a snapping pace behind her. She sings of “Peter Pan and the Pied Piper rolled into one,” as she describes the character in which the song title is about. It’s nothing offensive and that’s the whole vibe of the song as she carries on about letting go over an easy reason to do so. This isn’t something you can pick up on unless lyrics are your thing, but that is what a singer is there for, and she hits every mark there is to it. This is a songwriting effort but also a great sound quality to match it. If only everyone in the adult contemporary market were doing stuff like this, it could cause an up-rise not unlike a couple of decades before when all was still going so well in the industry. Before the American Idols and the digital age crept up to what it is now. The world could use more participation in producing quality music, and Downie would be more noticed. As this is no disgrace to hers or anyone’s work, and I can also see her meriting accolades with the best of her contemporaries.
The track has that much going for it and puts Downie on the future review radar and that can be hard to do, because it’s such a fickle world full of short attention spans, due to many reasons we have to deal with the reality of. She warns not to mess around with the already taken because they are with someone else, happy or not. But I can’t give it all away here, so, just pick it up on recommendation and see for yourself, as singles can be harder to describe than meets the eyes and ears. One can wind up leaving nothing to the imagination, and that is something to be left open.
Larry Toering
Score: 4/5