Album Feature: Danielle Miraglia “Glory Junkies”
Danielle Miraglia is a self proclaimed “promo ho”. For those with a dirty tendency, this merely means from time to time she promotes her music and art with a warning…ex. “I am about to promo ho, here are my next 6 gigs and pre-sale for my new record”.
Now that your mind is out of the gutter I can say with full confidence, Danielle has nothing to worry about as her posts and promoting are always welcome on my newsfeed. It’s something she does, and does extremely well. Another thing she does well is making kick ass rock n’roll and blues inspired, occasionally folkish music. Her latest “Glory Junkies” veers towards the rock side (see: if Mick Jagger played guitar like a beast and was a lady with even more kickass attitude and swagger on ‘Exile’ ). Bassist and Producer Tom Bianchi said that was the vibe they were going for, a rock n’ roll album ala the Stones. I’d say they succeeded pretty damn well, but it still has that Miraglia charm (and growl) that folks have grown to love.
The title track has a familiarity in its guitar tones and the back beat of the drums. Miraglia comes in with her honey toned voice…with just enough grit and back barroom grime to make it something beautiful but ballsy. The horn solo at the break is great and leads right into a well placed bridge that flattens out the track at just the right time and keeps it all interesting. Strong musicianship and vocal delivery across the board here. Danielle has a humor in her lyrics, but also an edge to the words that cut a bit. You can have a slight chuckle at some of the quips in her songs, but at the same time you might do a double take and say, “hey…that was something else”.
Glory junky your hearts in the right place
but its a vacuum and its sucking up all mine
“Tear it Down” has a delta driving vibe to it. The dobro line that is prominent across it and Miraglia sings out a bit more. Where “Glory Junky” is a bit more smooth and warm, this has some attitude that I have seen and heard Miraglia blow folks away with. Just showing how diverse this gal really is. The repeating of the chorus that you can latch onto, the tasty harmonica licks, and the slide of the dobro that follows the melody of the singer’s voice to a T. It is complex in its simplicity and a very impactful tune from this record.
This is an incredibly fun record. It doesn’t take itself all too seriously and feels very natural. All the players are tuned in and every part makes sense. It has its warm parts, its rocking parts, and of course, the blues are injected to its central arteries. Danielle’s vocal is the star of the show. The collection grooves and sways, feels almost like it should have been released in the early 70s alongside Exile on Main St. A great new record exploring some exciting new sounds for the singer-songwriter that still stays true to her roots. Excellent.
————————
Danielle Miraglia & The Glory Junkies will celebrate the release of the new album “Glory Junkies” with a rockin’ full band show at Davis Sq. Theater. w/ Special guests Spotted Tiger. You can get your tickets here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1393470
