Surrender Dorothy

Alana Davis is one of the rare artists that have managed to bridge the gap between folk and soul without faltering. Ever since her striking debut, Blame It On Me, Davis has conjured up a mixture unlike any other. The beats are heavy on acoustic, yet never denying its deep-rooted soul. The New York native created a mold that is somewhere between Bill Withers and Jewel, without being as oblique as Tracy Chapman.
But as with many artist who dare to create a template all their own, the likelihood of maintaining a long career is cut down. Consider Ben Harper and Maxwell, they have delivered new sounds yet are pigeonholed into somewhat of a novelty cliché. Remember how Erykah Badu was titled the Miss Cleo of hip hop?
After Elektra records decided to disregard earthier tones to big beats, tossing the careers of both Davis and Chapman out of the window, many artists started grasping how unpredictable the music industry is.
Davis started her own record company named Tigress Records, under which she released this album. Following the footsteps of the woman who gave her her first hit “32 Flavors.”
With Surrender Dorothy being her first record post-emancipation we notice a more relaxed and organic Alana Davis, even more so than her debut.
The album does not have evident radio-hits like “I Want You” or “Crazy,” but it does have grabby tunes like “Letter” and the touching “Right There.”
Here Davis concentrates on making a record more sonically flowing than anything else. Even the cover version of Bob Marley’s “Nice Time” is safely tucked away as the last bonus track.
Then there are more rock influenced ditties like “The Benefit,” which gives the record an edge without straying too far away. “Vision” is an ode to life without direction, yet with a goal.
On the other hand, there are the low-tempo tunes that compose Davis an amazing talent shying away from the Joss Stone tactics of American Idol-esque aerobics.
This time, Davis delivers sincere emotion with subtlety on “Stay” and the earnest “Right Here.”
“Jaded (Goodbye)” is another track that deals with lost love almost with barefaced stance. While the standout award goes to “Desert Rose (Higher Than A Lover),” which rises with a subdued yearning.
Davis is an example of how faulty the music biz is. This fruitful young talent that has had every door shut at her face for refusing to comply to hype standards. Do yourself a favor and pick one of her albums up while she is still subsiding as an under-publicized indie.

Music: Letter - Alana Davis