Dana Gavanski’s new album, LATE SLAP, comes and goes between despair and trust in intimate lyrics. Review of this gentle slap.
LATE SLAP – DANA GAVANSKI
These are thoughts about the uncomfortable, the troubling, about our lifestyles. This is what rolls in the guitars of How To Feel Uncomfortable. Dana Gavanski has fought to get her voice back, lost for too long in 2021, and now back with it, she releases LATE SLAP. This new album tales notes from some vintage rock as much as from modern pop. Mainly, her voice is impressive, with a unique texture to it. This new opus, she’s written it differently as she had to relearn how to work with her main instrument again, affecting her writing. The result is charming and invites us to take a step back, take our time, and let romanticism come back. Let Them Row carries that essence without ignoring the world’s ambivalence, cost and cynicism.
Precisely, Late Slap is a slap given by life itself – but be aware, it’s contained in the lyrics, as the tone of the song keeps something deeply tender and soothing. A wonderful contrast, of course. It keeps going with some sunny pop-rock sounds, inspired by the 60s to 80s (Singular Coincidence, Song For Rachel, Ribbon). Getting into the realm of dreams with Ears Were Growing, and more folk with Eye On Love, Dana Gavanski truly impresses through her vocal range. How wonderful to hear her comfortable after such a scare! Deep, light, ethereal and high, she always uses it right.
To close this new record, Gavanski looks into her Dark Side for beauty and meaningless, and in Reiteration for renewal. LATE SLAP is full of hardships and difficult themes, like the loss of a loved one, to whom Song For Rachel and Ribbon are dedicated. Yet, its darkness and questions are wrapped into something bigger and gentler. Here, Dana Gavanski goes on with life’s contradictions and makes of LATE SLAP a kind reality check. It’s a slap of tenderness.
