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Thursday, June 27, 2024
Album Review: Daniel Nunnelee – June, Baby
There's a journeyman quality to the songs of young Daniel Nunnelee. Perhaps it's not surprising considering the amount of life the 26 year old has already lived prior to releasing this first album. From growing up and learning to sing and play guita…
There's a journeyman quality to the songs of young Daniel Nunnelee. Perhaps it's not surprising considering the amount of life the 26 year old has already lived prior to releasing this first album. From growing up and learning to sing and play guitar as a youth pastor, dropping out of music school and balancing viral fame on TikTok while doing food delivery in Nashville, Nunnelee has collected some life miles for sure. Combining this with his clear musical talent has made June, Baby an exquisite piece of baroque folk pop, filled with lush orchestration and lyrical introspection.
First single "Do You?" is as yearning as it is uplifting. With the drums and jangly guitars pumping the song up with youthful energy, and heavenly synths fleshing out the atmosphere, the song is the kind of lovely songwriting that would have gone over as well with the Phil Spector fans in the 60's as it would with the Laurel Canyon crowd in the 70's. As he embraces harmonies with road trip romance lines like "Losing touch with reality, at least it's you in the passenger seat," you'll wish you were rolling down a highway blasting the song.
Nunnelee enjoys kicking up the noise in swift rockers like "I Wanna Die Before You Die" and the raw "Be Someone Else, with it's rhythmic strut, which gives way to Fleetwood Mac vibes, but for the most part the album is a mix of lovely, serene folk and Brian Wilson-influenced pop. The layers in the production, seamlessly blended, gives acoustic tracks like "Deer Trails" a huge sound. One can also hear plenty of Jeff Buckley influences in the soulful "Kick Down That Door," as it builds on sonic distortion into a grandiose, trombone-assisted anthemic ending.
On gentle tracks like "ily ily ily", Nunnelee's lyrical charm gets a chance to shine. "We would sing amazing grace in hopes we get some, cause God knows even the good kids need to make love," probably wouldn't have been appreciated during his time as a youth pastor, but will certainly be relatable to masses of young people. With a foot-stomping beat and tambourine banging in the background, the lo-fi track is one of the most stripped-back tracks here.
It's this versatility that really impressed me. Nunnelee can as masterfully write gentle folk pop ("Why Don't You Just Come Over") or jazz-inflected crooning ("Edge of Eternity") while making the record completely cohesive. And as a lyricist, he knows how to write personal songs that have universal relevance. "Are You Proud of Me" is written not only as a plea to his family, but simultaneously to the God he feels he left behind in his Christian past, and asks most importantly whether our actions as good people can overcome the expectations set upon us.
While he may have gotten a boost from TikTok, Daniel Nunnelee is an artist deserving of a full career past his viral moment. The full album comes out tomorrow, June 28th, via One Riot. You can stream the pre-released tracks here!
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