FEATURED ARTIST *Victoria Dodson* Growing Pains ALBUM REVIEW

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Victoria Dodson - Growing Pains

Laval, Canada

Victoria Dodson has recently released her album titled 'Growing Pains'. In a statement, Victoria said "I had been interested in making music my entire life, in elementary school, we'd do musicals, in middle school and high school I was in the orchestra. it wasn't until 2020 that I decided to start making music!" Something that isn't unique to artists lately given the Covid-19 pandemic. Taking influence from artists such as Lord Huron, Daft Punk, and Billie Eilish to name a few, we were intrigued to hear about this project. So let's get to it. Opening with 'Homesick' I was taken aback by the likeliness this artist has to 'Billie Eilish'. Also presenting similarities to 'Gabrielle Aplin' I knew that this would be an album that I would really get into. Track 2 'Let Go' paints the message that even though someone may have hurt you, sometimes we tend to rationalise keeping bad people around just because we are afraid of being alone. This artist has a beautiful tone to her voice, a good range, and great production skills - she only started in 2020? That's crazy. Moving on, 'Can I Drive?' tells a story in the way a country-inspired track would. This is enhanced by the instruments used and the way that they have been used. We hear banjos, guitar and even whistling in this one! '

Opaline' makes way for high levels of vocal reverb which overtake the feel of the song in a really clever way. Almost halfway through this album, we're now provided with an even stronger country feel and yet another tone to this artist's vocals. Track 6 titled 'Goodnight' literally takes us into a dream of a production. A clever twist makes its way into this song when it switches into more of an indie-rock-inspired piece. Just when we thought we'd heard all there could possibly be to this artist's creativity we're given 'Lost Again' which switches its genre influences into something unheard of previously in this album. I'm amazed that this artist has created this whole project on her own - it's immaculate from start and through the middle. With 4 tracks left to go, I'm intrigued as to where this will go next and where it will end! 'Space and Time' gives us an outer space feeling synth in its opening, as the track eases its way into itself, I started to notice that it was vacant of vocals - this was a VERY clever and well-thought-out move. It allows us to get lost in just how skillful this artist is in production whilst leaving us to our own thoughts. 'Where No Man Has Gone' brings raw vocals back to the project with an acoustic feel that is entangled in the arms of the strings that hold it, the absence of drums created a more personal feel to this one. The penultimate track '39' enters us into the storytelling of country music once again before ending the project on the same vibe as 'Feel Better'. This artist has an incredible talent and should be proud of herself for producing this project from start to finish.

STREAM HERE

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