Album Premiere: Brittany Danielle’s ‘Hindsight’
Welcome to the album premiere of Brittany Danielle’s ‘Hindsight’! Join us in listening to this brand-new record for the first time, ten songs with influences of pop, soul and jazz. This article features a full review, concluded by a Q&A with Brittany about the making of the album.
Seattle artist Brittany Danielle is a musical chameleon. Playing piano since the age of eight, Danielle has performed in many bands in the Seattle area, exploring the genres of jazz, indie and stretching even to dark synth-wave. This can be heard particularly in her work with indie-rock band Ryan Barber and The Riches, and the synth combo Purr Gato.
To pass the time during the pandemic, Brittany recorded many covers ranging from Corinne Bailey Rae to Paul Simon, Beyoncé, The Bee Gees and Elton John, further showcasing the variety of her musical palette. This soon progressed into Danielle sharing her own compositions online, some of which would make it to the sessions for her full-length debut. Brittany Danielle’s album ‘Hindsight’ was preceded by her singles ‘Fondly’ and the title track, with the remaining eight songs being released on June 24th.
Purchase a copy of ‘Hindsight’ on CD and download from Brittany Danielle’s Bandcamp page here.
‘This coffee just burnt my tongue, trying my best to get sober…’
‘Liquid Drugs’ is the perfect beginning for ‘Hindsight’. I defy you to not bob your head to this track, with its funky delivery and infectious groove. You can hear how much fun the band are having here, starting with Harry Wirth’s bass slide post-accented intro to Larson Haakenstad’s vital lead guitar line and Nick Molenda’s assault on the drum kit. Brittany Danielle’s piano playing is a rhythmic constant as her lyric becomes the centre of this song, reading like an entry from a diary.
Image Credit: Kirk Stauffer.
Already taking a turn in style, the opening electric piano for ‘Nothing’ gives this song a bounce that remains throughout, making this song a clear choice for radio airplay. Brittany Danielle’s music from Hindsight has already received plays on Washington State radio stations such as KBCS, KBFG, Seattle Wave Radio and KMRE.
‘Was this love mutual? Or did I take a fall? Always contribute more than you.’
Brittany builds her parts with piano and extra keyboard while the band takes a laid-back approach to Nothing. Danielle’s chorus melody is an early draw on Hindsight, layering her vocal and warranting repeat listens, a trend that continues across Hindsight.
‘These Words got me wondering why your argument is so paper-thin. These Words are so pandering, while you discriminate on someone else’s skin.’
The introduction to ‘Words’ is a gorgeous combination of Brittany Danielle’s piano and electric piano performances, woven in with Larson Haakenstad’s clean electric guitar and Harry Wirth’s fluid bass playing. Together with Nick Molenda, they soundtrack Danielle’s lyric, which shows the power of words and their ability to affect change. ‘Words’ was also one of the songs Brittany shared soon after it was written, as seen above.
“Don’t you take me for nothing, you might find that there’s something missing. Oh it’s my time to fly, so we’re changing from ‘we’ to ‘I’.”
‘Don’t’ has the most unique feel of all the tracks on ‘Hindsight’. The only song with a shared writing credit on this self-penned album, Brittany Danielle collaborates with guitarist Larson Haakenstad to create the equally funky and synthetic sounds on ‘Don’t’. Danielle shares her performance between piano and synthesizers, while Haakenstad records multiple guitar parts which sound off either side of the stereo mix. The fusion of styles makes for an exciting listening experience without trading in Danielle’s writing personality.
‘I don’t think about you Fondly. I don’t think of you with longing, I don’t think of you unless you bother me with calling. I don’t think of you at all.’
‘Fondly’ was the first single to be taken from ‘Hindsight’ and also the first song I heard from Brittany Danielle. Upon hearing the opening moments of Fondly, my genuine and out loud reaction was to say, ‘Oh STOP IT!’
And I stand by this response. The way the band gels on this song is not a chemistry easily achieved, as the rhythm section of Harry Wirth and Nick Molenda intertwine and Larson Haakenstad effortlessly wraps himself around the production. Danielle continues to flesh out her melodies that make this music such a pleasing listening experience – an obvious and worthwhile choice for a debut single.
A change of pace arrives with ‘Ruin’, a song perfectly aligned with the tracklisting and flow of the album. Beginning in a more stripped back way gives Brittany Danielle’s lyric the focus it deserves, ‘I made a decision, ain’t no revision, take what I’m giving…’ As her chords climb, it’s the arrival of Molenda’s drums that drive home the yearning and brilliant writing in this song, as seen in its raw form above.
‘Can’t push it away, it’s not here to stay. What about the Hard Times? Get up and go times?’
The mood doesn’t linger for long as Brittany picks up the tempo once more for ‘Hard Times’. In a live set, Hard Times may well be the high point, a song to win crowds over with lyrics relatable to audiences whilst also being something they can dance to. The track finishes with a solo from Haakenstad, rounding off Hard Times almost too soon and leaving the listener wanting more!
‘I don’t need your Validation, that train has left the station. All I want is for the taking, I gotta different point of view.’
You might notice a musical addition to ‘Validation’. Brittany Danielle used to perform with saxophonist Patrick Sheng in a jazz combo called Orjazzmic, who adds an extra flair to this empowering number. With this particular musical direction in its mixture of soul and jazz, Validation could easily be inspired by the music of Ray Charles, an early hero of Danielle’s.
‘And you’ve been alone, trapped by your four walls, and the corners of your mind. Let it go.’
One of the most heartfelt pieces on Hindsight is its title track, released as a single back in May. Inspired by the pandemic, ‘Hindsight’ speaks of the emotional toil shared across the world during this time. ‘A year passes by, I’ve got nothing to show for it…’
In Brittany Danielle’s early take of the song above, she remarks how she finds it difficult to perform it without crying. This emotional energy is still evident in the album version, especially when Nick Molenda brings the band in with a drum fill, boosted by a guitar solo from Larson Haakenstad. Danielle’s final lyric in the song is both fitting and comforting – ‘You’re not alone.’
‘You can’t live in my head Rent-free, sticking around and bothering me, sticking around with things that you said, trying to find free space in my head.’
But if you thought this was the end of Hindsight, you’d be wrong. A click of the sticks, and the band is back once more for ‘Rent’. This song is a true finale to the album, featuring horns from saxophonist Chris Siegmund, Jared Crider on trumpet and trombonist Ryan Wagner. The band’s rhythm section join in with hand-claps beneath Brittany Danielle’s free-flowing lyric, a fun and uplifting way to end this eclectic collection of songs.
Continue reading for our Q&A with Brittany Danielle. We ask her about the making of Hindsight, including working with her band members, the kinds of instruments she used personally during the recording, and the possibility of a tour to support the album. All this and more below!
1. Your debut album 'Hindsight' was written during the pandemic and recorded in 2021, what was the song that came first in the writing process?
The first song that was written was Nothing followed by Fondly. Those two were slightly prior to pandemic and ended up being huge songs for me in the process of writing this album. They were the songs that led the style for the rest of the album, and ended up helping me shape my sound altogether.
2. You seemed set on 'Fondly' being the lead single early on. At what point did you realise 'this has to be the first single!'?
Fondly has gone through a lot of changes. It first started as a heartbreaking ballad, and evolved over the course of the recording of the album. I think I would say it's the song I spent the most time on overall. It has a huge place in my heart, and has a relationship to my growth and healing more than the other songs do. It felt right for it to be the first one out of the gate.
3. Your core band features Larson Haakenstad, Harry Wirth and Nick Molenda. With your eclectic musical background, how did they come to play on this album?
I've played with Harry in a band before, and I've known Larson through the music scene for a long time. I ultimately trusted Larson and Harry to handle my songs with respect and care because I've known them as friends and musicians for so long. Nick was the wild card. I asked Harry who he would like to have as a drummer. It's important to me that there is a good relationship between a drummer and a bass player. Nick and Larson and Harry had all played together at one time or another, and Nick ended up being available.
I have to say, I was so nervous because I had a rapport with Harry and Larson, but with masks and Nick's stoicism I was worried he wasn't into it. Now, I really don't want to live without him.
At first, I was just looking for people to record the album with, but man, did it work out. I love having them live on stage with me. They all bring a different unique quality to the stage.
4. 'Don't' was co-written with Larson Haakenstad, what was that experience like? Who came up with which parts?
Larson said "Hey I think I have a song we could work on together if you like.” He had a general idea of what it might be about, but no lyrics. I would say I did 99% of the lyrics. He really liked "Don't you take me for nothing" and "changing from we to I" so I kept those. And I had about 5% say in the chord changes. Overall it was fun to do a collaboration with him and get such a banger out of it!
5. I saw one of your studio photos showing a circle of keyboards, would you tell us about the keyboard instruments you played on the album?
Avast recording studio had the dream office for me. I played a Yamaha C7 grand that made me cry when we recorded Hindsight. Such a joy to play on a beautiful instrument. We also had a Rhodes, a Wurlitzer Electric keyboard, and a Hammond B3 organ in the studio.
Later I added some Moog bass and Synthesizer keyboards to a couple songs for color. Those weren't seen in that circle of keyboards.
6. Despite these being your songs written with your capabilities in mind, was there a song that was particularly troublesome to track vocally?
I caught covid right before we went in to do vocals. I had to have a hospital visit, and was really sick for a while. I ended up getting a new vocal coach who specializes in lung repair and strengthening, Brittany Lauren. But we were on a schedule. So, I would almost say that all of them ended up having challenges due to that. There was a time right before I released the album that I wanted to go in and change all the vocals, but I felt like it was important to encapsulate that time in my life. I'm really proud of working through that.
That being said, Hindsight was, and continues to be hard because I've never been able to get through that one without getting choked up.
7. You've mentioned how intensely you listened to the tracks as you made them in the studio, is there a point where you have to stop working and just walk away?
The amount of times I threw my hands up in the air and said "I don't even know what I'm listening to anymore!" was endless it seemed. Luckily, I have an amazing group of musician friends who were happy to lend an ear and be honest with me about what I was hearing or what I thought I heard. I definitely had a moment with myself when I had to say "Art is always changing. These songs will never be the same twice. At some point, you have to make the choice of where they will be frozen in time." That thought process really helped me. Art changes. What did I want to remember about the process of making this album, and save that forever, like a snapshot in the growth of a child. It will keep changing, but we have a picture of where it was once.
8. The chord progression in 'Ruin' is majickal. Was this song a case of the music coming first, and the words later? Does it ever happen the other way round?
I love Ruin. It's one of my favorites, and I get so excited when I hear others tell me how much they love this one. The lyrics came first for ruin. I enjoyed the rhythm of the words, and had a notebook paper full of ideas. When it came to the chord progressions I had some R&B riffs that I wanted to explore. Mainly it stuck out in the vamp at the beginning. I sat at the keyboard re-harmonizing chords for hours to find where I was trying to go, and in the end I wanted the chord progression to feel like it was building this feeling of bittersweetness. A lot of my songs are happy sounding with sharp lyrics, but for Ruin, I wanted the listener to get swept into the emotion and get carried away like you do when you get caught up in a situation that you know is going to hurt your feelings - a little bit of melancholy with each loving motion.
To answer the second part, I usually hear a melody first, or a lyric with a melody. So, Ruin is interesting because it was purely poetic rhythm that drove the making of this song in the first place. It's pretty cool to think about it. Thanks for asking about that song in particular.
9. I think we can all relate to the title track, what was a life lesson you learned during the pandemic?
You can't do everything. Find your place. I lived right by a park where the gathering for BLM protests would either start or end, and my neighbor confessed to me that he felt like a failure because he didn't want to protest during covid due to his need to take care of his elderly mother. I told him that there are more battles than the protests that he could join in, and it opened my eyes to seeing that on a broader spectrum. Where are your strengths, and how can they be of use in whatever war or battle you are fighting? The phrase "it takes a village" comes to mind. Each member of that village contributes something different, so don't compare what the baker is doing... you can't cook bread, but you can play music and write lyrics.
10. The final track on 'Hindsight' is entitled 'Rent'. With our lives being flooded with a constant flow of information, what's something that's living in your head rent-free currently?
Wow, just one thing? Currently, I'm in a season of change. I quit teaching to pursue my solo music career, and that ended up rolling into a change of lifestyle and living situation. What do I want versus what am I being told I should have by now? My mind is constantly thinking of how to achieve mental health and quality of life in the way that I want it while pushing away the anxieties of how society says I SHOULD be living etc. It's interesting how much failure syndrome happens when you push against the grain even just a little. But I'm "pushing on authority..." and I think "the path ahead is starting to flow"
11. With your career having explored so many avenues in music, what's a musical direction you'd like to try but haven't had the chance to yet?
I want to own a small lounge and play in a jazz combo there. I would also like to start an event trio or quartet that would play at weddings, conventions, graduations or whatever. Music is such a vast ocean of possibilities. I've even looked into making some of my tracks into some EDM tunes. Why not? There's always something else to explore and with the amount of music technology right at my fingertips, it's almost insane to stay in one place.
12. You've got some shows coming up around Washington state, can fans expect a full tour for this record?
I'm currently looking into doing a California tour in September, and I've been talking with another music colleague of mine about another tour in December for our birthdays. So, that's all in the works. I don't see a need to stay still. I have been blessed with so many musician friends who are all over the US and even in the EU. I'm taking my tunes to all of them and in some places I'll be lucky enough to have them play with me!
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Purchase Brittany Danielle’s debut album ‘Hindsight’ on CD and download on her Bandcamp page here.
For more information about Brittany Danielle, including upcoming tour dates, visit her official website.
Follow Brittany Danielle on Facebook @brittanydanielleofficial, on Instagram and TikTok @brittanydaniellemusic and on Twitter @bdaniellemusic.
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