Daylight

ヴァ―モント出身のシンガーソングライター、Grace Potterの7枚目の作品。
これまでKenny Chesneyや The Rolling Stonesなどとも共演してきているPotter、プロデュースを務めるのは彼女の夫 Eric Valentine (Keith Urban、Gwen Stefani、Maroon 5) 。
ソウルの影響を色濃く出した作品で全曲Potter自身のオリジナル、内3曲は Mike Busbee (Pink、Maren Morris) との共作。
ミュージシャンも豪華で Benny Yurco(g) Matt Musty(g) Benmont Tench(ds) Larry Goldings(key) Lucius(backing vo)
アーシ―かつリアルな作品。

Firebrand blues, roots, rock, and soul vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Grace Potter has endured her fair share of life changes since the release of her sophomore solo outing Midnight. Forged in the crucible of divorce (from Nocturnals bandmate Matt Burr), marriage (to Midnight and Daylight producer Eric Valentine), and motherhood (she gave birth to a baby boy in 2018), the 11-track feels hard-won but remarkably sanguine. It helps that Potter and Valentine have dialed back some of the slick AOR pop sheen that made Midnight so divisive. Personal upheaval can often have a grounding effect, and Daylight sees Potter attempting to recover some of the bar-band swagger that marked her work with the Nocturnals while keeping an eye on the pop charts. The saucy Love Is Love sets a warm, tube-driven tone, framing Potters smoky croon against a slow-burning, Stax-inspired groove. The fiery On My Way follows suit, but cranks up the tempo with a thumping Jumping Jack Flash back beat. Both tracks are fine, but Potter cracks the code on the mid-album stunner Release, which ditches the bells and whistles in favor of a simple piano and vocal arrangement that plays to all of her strengths. Four of the songs feature backing vocals from Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, both from Brooklyn-bred indie pop quartet Lucius, and they add some sweet, gospel-ish textures to soulful workouts like Back to Me and Desire, but Daylight works best when Potter is steering the ship. Even with the considerable and seasoned talents of Valentine, Nocturnals alum Benny Yurco, and keyboardists Larry Goldings and Benmont Tench behind her, Potter commands the room. ~ James Christopher Monger