Danyew - Danyew

Producer:  Pete Kipley
Record Label:  Sparrow Records/EMI Christian Music Group
Website:  http://danyew.sparrowrecords.com

Phil Danyew (who just goes by “Danyew”), like EMI Christian Music Group’s new batch of signees Philmont, Abandon, and Sarah Reeves, has released his six-song debut recording - simply titled Danyew.  Produced by Pete Kipley (MercyMe), Danyew finds the singer/songwriter trying on all kinds of different hats - and excelling at every single one of them.  Vocally, Danyew immediately reminds the listener of skilled vocalist Phil Wickham with shades of Kevin Max or Sanctus Real’s Matt Hammitt- especially on soaring Brit-rock influenced tracks like “The Closer We Are” and “Streetlight.”  However, Danyew’s not some one-trick pony, as he goes for other styles like acoustic pop on “Nothing Without You,” atmospheric worship on “Beautiful King,” and piano-based indie-rock for “Turnstile.”  Phil Danyew has a way of trying out different styles, yet connecting each style to give the recording a unified sound.  Much of that probably has to do with Pete Kipley’s expert production work.  Lyrically, most of the record is focused on the worship side of rock - especially seen on cuts like “Beautiful King” and “Nothing Without You.”  “Turnstile” finds the singer/songwriter touching on the love for a woman as opposed to his Creator.  Danyew could use a little more work in the lyric department - as “Streetlight” finds odd comparisons of God’s love to that of a streetlight glowing.  It’s not the best simile choice - but Danyew’s impressive musical landscape around the song helps it to not dive too far into mediocrity.  Overall, Danyew is a very impressive debut for the new artist.  It’s easily the strongest release from a new artist this year.