Dan Fisk - Bruises From The Backseat

Dan Fisk – Bruises From The Backseat
2011, Daniel Fisk

Virginia native Dan Fisk is a versatile singer/songwriter who has been rising to the top of the Washington, DC market over the past few years.  Voted one of D.C.’s “Hottest 5” musicians in 2010, Fisk’s chunky guitar style, voice and songwriting mesmerize artists.  Comparisons to Dave Matthews and Pat McGee abound, and seem justified.  Fisk recently released his debut solo EP, Bruises From The Backseat, featuring appearances from the cream of the Washington D.C. music scene’s crop, including Katie Chambers and Ted Garber.

Bruises From The Backseat opens with "A Thousand Love Songs", an awkward newborn of a song that quickly finds its step.  This is an acoustic ballad with oomph, and you can almost hear the soaring strains of a classic power ballad beneath the unadorned acoustic arrangement.  "Part Of You" is an intriguing number about the transition of a relationship from lovers to friends.  Fisk creates interest with small musical touches woven into the edges of the arrangement, accentuating a melody worth paying attention to.  "Little Things" is a silly little love song that focuses of romantic minutiae.  Done up in a catchy folk/pop arrangement, "Little Things" is ripe for licensing for prime-time television drama. 

Fisk creates some musical waves with a brilliant cover of one of Paul Simon's lesser known hits, "Standed In A Limousine".  Fisk brings out the bluesy backbone of the song, and has obvious fun doing so.  There's no keeping your feet still for this one.  "Life And Limb" finds Fisk in a quieter mode, turning in a great vocal performance, and finding a bit of high lonesome sound in the distinctive vocal harmonies crafted around the melody.  Fisk closes with a solid reprisal in "Part Of You II".

The first thing that will strike you about Dan Fisk is his voice.  It's not perfect; flecked as it is here and there with interesting veins of timbre and tone, but there is something utterly reel about it.  Fisk is a performer, pure and simple; a quality that even comes across in the recorded media of a CD or MP3.  Bruises From The Backseat is the sort of introduction that keeps listeners coming back.  It's a little early to declare Fisk a star, but the potential is there. 

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Dan Disk at www.danfisk.com or www.myspace.com/danfisk. Bruises From The Backseat is available from Amazon.com as a Bruises from the Backseat or Download.  The album is available via iTunes.