Album Review: Christie Lamb – Dare

Golden Guitar and CMC Award Winner Christie Lamb follows the release of her ARIA #1 and Golden Guitar Top Five Highest Selling Album Truth, with her sequential new album Dare.

This is Christie’s fifth studio album, produced again by award-winning producer Stuart Stuart (Sheppard, Dean Lewis, Amber Lawrence).

Christie took a writing trip to Nashville and penned the tracks for the album. The album has already seen the release of some great radio singles here in Australia.

Tipsy opens the record as one of those single releases, and this is an upbeat country pop-rock number that has a Pat Benatar / Alannah Myles feel to it, and this vibe persist through much of the record – very polished and slick, as is the follow-up single of If The Boot Fits which has a pounding beat for the country dancefloor. On my first listen I suspect there may be some automated backing created in the studio rather than with a full live band – but I am advised that much of the album was recorded with producer and session musicians supporting Christie and hubby Jonathan English on guitars.

Touring relentlessly with her own dates across Australia and New Zealand, Christie is no stranger to being on the road. She has toured nationally with Lee Kernaghan for four years, opening the show as well as playing piano and mandolin as part of his band, alongside The Wolfe Brothers. The upcoming album release dates will all feature a full live band which will add a new dimension.

Christie’s superb clear vocals shine out on If I Can’t Believe It, with the soaring harmonies enhanced by some great keyboards, and then the pace drops for the start of Fighters, which sees more glorious vocals over a stripped back piano before the band kicks in for the second verse, and the intensity grows through music and voice into a massive AOR ballad.

There is some great guitar work for Jonathan in the riff of Damn Best which has one of those catchy beats, and some tasty little licks just before the end. There is another laid back number with Christie and Jonathan duetting on the gentle love-song of Somebody For Me.

The latest track off the record is Throwing It Back which pumps up the energy again in the same vein as fellow-Aussies Travis Collins, Jayne Denham or The Wolfe Brothers, but with the power and clarity of Christie’s vocals providing that extra dimension. There is an old-school Motown feel to Bigger Man which is a perfect fit to Christie’s voice and has a tight backing band providing the drive, while Jonathan gets a rare chance to let rip on the guitar for the solo.

Weekend Wasted will hopefully get released with a good old country rocking barroom video, and sees Christie providing some great harmony vocals through the verses, and more polished guitars providing a counterpoint in melody and rhythm. There are lots of hints at 1980’s melodic rock that keep popping up in this track, and on the second and third listen these become more obvious – and this is my genre!

There is another duet in Single Problem, this time with Canadian act Petric, which has much more of a Florida Georgia Line feel to it – one of those classic pop-country two-handers over a crisp beat, with top-quality pair of singers sharing the lead. This should be destined for a big radio impact in the USA.

The album ends on a high with the modern-country driving anthem of Nothin’ Like It, which is driven by the lead guitar and the drums, and sees yet more of Christie’s soaring vocals – clean and pure and with a range that is surprising.

Christie has been on the scene in Australia for longer than you might think, (remember the cracker of a video for You Brought The Party with Drew Baldridge that is still a staple on CMT after 5 years) and there has long been a market for great female-fronted country rock acts such as Shania Twain and the previously mentioned Pat Benatar and Alannah Myles, and the line between this melodic style of rock, and the likes of Taylor Swift is getting ever-more blurry.

Christie has a truly sensational voice, and the Nashville trip which spawned a number of the tracks on Dare with some experienced songwriters, has given the new album an extra edge, which hopefully will see her follow in the footsteps of Casey Barnes across the pond to the USA.

Buy the signed CD album now – https://www.christielamb.com/shop

Useful Links:

Website :
https://www.christielamb.com/

Facebook :
https://www.facebook.com/christielambofficial

Instagram :
https://www.instagram.com/christielambmusic/

YouTube :
https://www.youtube.com/c/christielambmusic

Tik Tok :
https://www.tiktok.com/@christielambmusic

Spotify :
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Pr9AicHS9itF9d7YdeN4F

TOUR DATES – CHRISTIE LAMB LIVE

9 Aug – The Beer Shed, Leumeah NSW Album Launch

15 Aug – Mantra Studio, Yarraville VIC Album Launch

22 Aug – Alpine Hotel, Cooma NSW