NYC singer/songwriter Denitia returned today with Sunset Drive, her second consecutive country album after a series of indie-R&B releases, and she once again proves to be a total natural at multiple styles of music. As I said in my review, Sunset Drive has some real-deal country signifiers (pedal steel, rollicking honky tonk rhythms), along with enough indie pop/rock vibes to keep the album firmly in crossover territory. Like its 2022 predecessor Highways, it’s also just great, timeless songwriting.
With the album out today, Denitia has told us about 10 major influences on it, and the list has pretty wide range, with Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, Neil Young, Kacey Musgraves, The Cure, Soccer Mommy, and more. Denitia also talks about each one inspired Sunset Drive, and you can read on for what she had to say…
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10 INFLUENCES ON DENITIA’S SUNSET DRIVE
Eagles – Their Greatest Hits (1971 – 1975)
Coming out the gate with a compilation is wild, however there is a back story. My grandfather had this on CD when I was growing up and it’s how I fell in love with Eagles’ songs. This one had a particular influence on the approach to the title track Sunset Drive. I wanted to bring in that open sky, open road, heartache feeling that I feel so much listening to some of these Eagles tunes. Some of my influences might not sound like a straight line but stick with me…
Vince Gill – “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away”
Ive always loved Vince Gill, he’s got the smoothest voice. When I started the seeds of “Good Life,” the chorus melody was hitting this one tone in my voice that felt a little like channeling Vince. His music has come up a lot between my producer Brad Allen Williams, and I. We love it.
Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka
When I was approaching “Holding on to You,” I had in my sense memory the way some of the drums felt on the upbeat songs on this record. I love the energetic, but steady feeling that this record taps into.
Neil Young – “Tell Me Why”
When I was fresh out of college, I was a prep cook for a while and the chef had incredible taste in music. He put me on to Neil Young among many other things. I started writing “Lavender Coasts” a bunch of years ago and the rustic vibe that it came from I feel has a thread to this album and this song in particular.
Don Williams
My producer/co-writer put me on to Don Williams and I just feel such a natural connection to some of his music. I love how easy it feels and watching videos of his live performances, he’s just relaxed and super chill and letting the songs speak for themselves. We had this inclination to dig into some of the easy feeling 4-on-floor groove, so we did that for at least one song on this record.
Dolly Parton – “9 to 5”
Well, when Brad and I sat down to write “Gettin’ Over” we wanted to tell a story from my perspective but sort of offer it up as a modern day version of “9 to 5.” It’s a working person’s anthem and it’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever worked on.
Kacey Musgraves – “High Horse”
Golden Hour is a classic record to me. The disco/country combination of this song just feels like a great cross-pollination to me. When I was envisioning what I wanted to do for this record, I wanted it to be anchored in things I love about Country music – pedal steel, lifting vocals, acoustic guitar – and also reach into some of my other influences and directions. This Kacey song is inspiring in that way.
The Cure – “Friday I’m in Love”
At some point I got a little caught up with the idea of approaching some post-punk with a country lens. I’m always having a The Cure moment, but I was having a strong one and I wanted ‘Ready to Fall’ to embody some of the Brit-pop/post-punk steadiness and pop vibe of this particular Cure tune.
Soccer Mommy – “Yellow is the Color of Her Eyes”
When I started the first demo for “Don’t Let Me Go,” I was inspired by the slow burn, grunge swagger of this one. I love the drums on this track, and the chill but chugging guitars here. Reminds me of the alt-rock I loved in high school.
Randy Travis
I’m not sure I could trace an exact thread to a whole song on Sunset Drive, but his vocal melodies and approach come up a lot when I’m thinking about how to be anchored in the traditional country music that I love so much. Something is so special about his vocal delivery and where he chooses to place emphasis, I think he’s influenced a lot of our choices here and there on this record.
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Denitia — 2024 Tour Dates
September 6 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement
September 18 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre **
September 20 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground **
September 21 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel **
September 26 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage **
September 27 – New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre **
September 28 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Café and Music Hall **
October 15 – St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall **
October 17 – Chicago, IL @ Joe’s on Weed Street **
October 18 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue **
October 19 – Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s **
October 22 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre **
October 23 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig **
October 25 –Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection **
November 4 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall **
November 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live **
November 8 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Hifi **
November 9 – Lexington, KY @ Manchester Music Hall **
** – Supporting Mickey Guyton