New To You: ALBUM REVIEW: Cloverdayle – SELF-TITLED

Cloverdayle - Cloverdayle

Release Date: June 29, 2018

Label: Cloverdayle LLC

16 Tracks

Time: 59:19

Genres: Country

Amazon UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com

Hello Tonight / State of My Heart / Under the Influence / Middle of Nowhere / I Gave It All / I'll Remember / Slow & Easy / Make It a Tall One / Last Dirt Road / Let Me Go / 
Love Changes Everything / Whatever Makes Your Heart Race/ Scars / 
Better Together / Legacy / Strawberry Wine (Bonus track) 

Debut: June 29: No.113 US Country iTunes Charts

#13 Amazon.com top 20 new release best-sellers for Country Music (Current rank: #2396 in Country Digital Albums)

In the fall of 2013, Cloverdayle who comprise Chad Hamar (rhythm acoustic guitar, vocals, drums) and Rachel Hamar (lead vocals on every track), moved from their home state of Oregon to Nashville, TN with one overriding goal and that was to push themselves as songwriters. 

Pulling from life experiences, touring and writing they self-released a 11-track album OFF THE GRID (iTunes)” on May 19, 2015. Singles “Why”, “Let It Go” (iTunes), “Better Together” and “Scars” (iTunes) followed in 2017.

Pulling these singles and fresh material in organized fashion the US duo released this, their 16-track SELF-TITLED full-length album, on Friday, June 29, 2018. The album came to fruition thanks to their loyal fanbase using the crowd-fund platform Kickstarter (272 backers pledged $16,781 of an unknown goal) and more than $35,000 was jointly raised.

Hello Tonight with its contemporary high energy vibe, crunching electric guitar riffs and hand clapping gets things off to a brisk and powerful start. The opener speaks about escapism from the mundane, needing time to unwind, let go and enjoy a highway midnight drive till the road runs out!

Things slow down with the album standout courtesy of the gorgeous ballad State of My Heart which beautifully highlights Rachel Hamar’s softer vocal and laced with steel guitar this is true country-holic goodness, that will mend a broken heart and come back stronger, wonderful stuff!

The panting Under the Influence has snappy lyrics a rock-kick that describes the trouble when trying to shake of a craving habit.

The mid-paced Middle of Nowhere has a bouncy beachy feelgood vibe and perfect for a laid-back Summertime playlist.

The fiery and growling I Gave It All ebbs and flows and speaks of standing one’s ground. With a soft and airy melodic beginning, I'll Remember builds pointing its compass back to happier halcyon days (first time meeting, sipping red wine and passionate love) a perfect story sadly ends without the picture-perfect ending but a heart that holds on to special moments and seeking out  brighter times once more.

The soulful, melodic and rather lovely Slow & Easy has a relaxed front-porch ambiance and one for the listener to soak up as Rachel has us all wrapped up in both a smoky and crystal cloud.

I guess every country album worth its salt necessitates a drinking song with sing-along hooks and the free-spirited bite-the-bullet Make It a Tall One fits the bartender bill! 

Last Dirt Road is an observation piece on modern life locking up doors and putting up fences where freedom and a simple life pays a price giving way to commercial greed: Where concrete creeps into the country, rolling over pine trees

The slow paced Let Me Go is a sensitive cut striving to hold on to a love in a now uncertain relationship referencing some classic Dolly-Willie-Possum country lines. If the record really is broken, then there can only be one conclusion.

The hopeful (a uniter rather than a divider) Love Changes Everything is underpinned with a back-beat and pleasant harmonies and is a classy number with rich textures and some soaring vocals to mirror the gripping apprehension. What direction shall we take at the fork in the road? A love that heals, goodnight kisses in a romantic world sounds like the perfect option!

With is blaster-style Whatever Makes Your Heart Race it’s a little heavy-going and weary at times, Scars has a forceful gospel-nature whilst repelling cruel words and coping with last goodbyes that eventually make us stronger.

Whether Better Together’s title was inspired by the US social movement who knows? Taking on a modern-day stadium look-to-production it’s fun-filled with juicy slabs that pampers to a significant other with its candy-like adjectives.

The gripping Legacy has dark undertones as a mother strives to hold it all together and leave the world in a better place after receiving the worst of all news as a questioning husband tries to make every precious moment count. 

 

The album rounds out with a cover of Deana Carter’s number one smash signature song “Strawberry Wine” (writers Matraca Berg Gary Harrison) which won Song of the Year at the CMAs in 1997 taken from her 5x Multi-Platinum album DID I SHAVE MY LEGS FOR THIS? This cut seems to be live show favourite for Cloverdayle over the years (>> Video cover opening for Tim McGraw in 2012). It’s a good idea to include a well-known song when an act is reaching out to a new audience but risks criticism when comparisons are bound to be made. Alas this 2018 retreatment is not idyllic, bittersweet and a first taste of love for a new listener to Cloverdayle as the hot July moon observes.

This 16-track eponymous set has a few misses along the route but is certainly well worth a listen.

Essential Download: State of My Heart, Love Changes Everything, Slow & Easy, Middle of Nowhere, Legacy

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ABOUT: Cloverdayle:

Band Members:

Chad Hamar (rhythm acoustic guitar, vocals, drums),

Rachel Hamar (lead vocals),

Home Town: Bend, Oregon

Nashville based husband and wife duo, Cloverdayle originally hail from the Pacific Northwest.  Since the birth of Cloverdayle in 2008, Chad & Rachel Hamar have had a relentless determination to bring their brand of country music to the masses in a grassroots way.  The duo moved from their home state of Oregon to Nashville, TN in the Fall of 2013.  Not in search of fame, fortune, or record deals, but with one overriding goal – to push themselves as songwriters. So they’ve written, and lived, and toured, and written, and lived, and toured, and written some more. Pulling from those real life experiences, Chad & Rachel have literally been writing and performing the soundtrack of their lives…and their friends’ lives…and perfect strangers’ lives.

Cut to almost 5 years post-move, with: 2 fully-fan-funded albums & 2 EPs under their collective belts, a featured song on the popular Canadian TV show “Heartland” (now on Netflix), a prominent feature on Billboard.com, hundreds of energy-fueled live performances, (including opening spots for Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Eric Church, Kelsea Ballerini and Jason Aldean), and thousands of late nights and copious cups of early morning coffee, Cloverdayle released a self-titled full length album featuring 15 original songs penned or co-penned by the duo, as well as a bonus track of their take on the 1996 hit “Strawberry Wine.”

Their engaging live shows and regular hilarity via the Facebook & Instagram Live stream outlets, sparked the duo’s fan base to fund their most recent Kickstarter campaign that reached almost $37,000 in just 30 days!  In addition to many high-profile shows on their 2018 “Summer of Shenanigans Tour”, Cloverdayle will once again be included in the iconic Oregon Jamboree lineup, headlining the second stage in the coveted Saturday night spot and performing directly in front of Maren Morris and Brett Eldredge on the main stage!