Other Side
Outside In, 2023
8/10
The NYC vocalist and instrumentalist Danielle Wertz returns with a sophomore album, where a personal and emotive 10 tracks unfolds with help from Javier Santiago, Evan Hyde, Sam Priven, Owen Clapp and Keith Ganz.
“April 2020” gets the listen off to an atmospheric start, where Wertz’s dreamy pipes are met with soothing synth work in a nearly New Age sort of way, and “Spring Is Here” follows with twinkling keys, poetic singing and well timed sax from Priven, as the setting turns into a powerful display.
“A Sunday Kind Of Love” arrives at the halfway point, and showcases Hyde’s fluid drumming amid Santiago’s precise keys and, of course, Wertz’s pretty voice, while “When The Walls Crumble, We Return” welcomes playful scatting and Clapp’s lively bass lines for the album’s best and most energetic moment.
Close to the end, “Cloud Shaped Thoughts” is a bare and gorgeous offering that is illuminated by Ganz’s acoustic guitar, and “Other Side” exits with mesmerizing piano for the sublime balladry.
Wertz had another type of record in mind for this installment, but Covid had her shift gears into this body of work that was birthed out of solitude and isolation, and captures just what so many felt during the pandemic thanks to her authentic and impassioned vision.
Travels well with: Nick Finzer- Dreams, Visions, Illusions; Roxy Coss- Disparate Parts