Daisy Hicks releases new single "Upside"
“Inside the smoothest of rhythms is a million tiny synchronized parts working together to generate music that challenges our instinct’s grasp of harmony and provokes us to dig deeper into these melodies that formulate such a strong reaction within our soul. Occasionally we get the opportunity to hear an artist that makes these micro-explosions all the more accessible for us appreciate as fans of the fine arts, and in Daisy Hicks, we have a true steward of the tried and true ways of jazz’s old school. Not only does her new song “Upside” live up to its title in giving us a glimpse into the softer, more optimistically positive side of jazz’s sometimes jarring landscape, but it leaves a strong enough impression to garner new, youthful attention to a genre that a lot of the major labels have abandoned in recent years.”
– No Depression – The Journal of Roots Music
Chaos exists within the engine of every jazz song, no matter how muted or subdued the finished product may present itself to us. Inside the smoothest of rhythms is a million tiny synchronized parts working together to generate music that challenges our instinct’s grasp of harmony and provokes us to dig deeper into these melodies that formulate such a strong reaction within our soul. Occasionally we get the opportunity to hear an artist that makes these micro-explosions all the more accessible for us to analyze and closely appreciate as fans of the fine arts, and in Australia’s Daisy Hicks, we have a true steward of the tried and true ways of jazz’s old school. Not only does her new song “Upside” live up to its title in giving us a glimpse into the softer, more optimistically positive side of jazz’s sometimes jarring landscape, but it leaves a strong enough impression to garner new, youthful attention to a genre that a lot of the major labels have abandoned in recent years.
Daisy Hicks wasn’t content to just give us one version of “Upside,” but four equally unique exhibitions in sonic experimentalism in addition to her original recording. That’s because beyond being a sultry jazz temptress, Hicks is a committed singer/songwriter who puts as much of stock into production as she does into performance. Here, she’s awesomely teamed with a soundboard crew that knew exactly how to create a penetrating, exquisitely intimate song that plays more like a coffee shop ballad than it does a processed studio recording. The results that are yielded could be a bit more spellbinding if her vocals were a bit higher in the mix, but I still feel like the overall feeling is captured quite poignantly in each of the different versions of the song.
It’s tough to say what the identity of a modern jazz singer should be, and when you think about history and especially of Hicks’ forerunners, that identity becomes all the more complicated. Juxtaposition, no matter the intention behind it, has always been a rather unfair way of judging artists on an individual basis, and sadly it’s something I see employed far too often among my fellow music critics. Hicks stands on her own, and comparing her to her contemporaries not only seem pointless and dismissive of her god given talents, but also seems incredibly shortsighted in all impartiality to her “competitors” as they may be. Lyrically she isn’t trying to get us to recall any of the standard singers of eras now in the past, but she doesn’t have to; there’s an affection for Billie Holiday and Quincy Jones’ more atmospheric work that doesn’t need to be emphasized because it’s in Hicks very DNA as a performer. She doesn’t have to wear her influences on her sleeve, nor go out of her way to sound different or scene-conscious. When everything clicks into place as well as it does on a track like “Upside,” the music does all of the talking for its composer, and we get to enjoy all of the splendid commentary it offers.
- Mindy McCall