Danny Michel

Danny Michel is no longer a newcomer. Even when he received his Juno nomination for Best New Artist back in 2004, he had been making music for about a decade in bands like the Rhinos and Starling. And now that his eighth solo album has appeared, he's an old hand and it shows. Sunset Sea oozes confidence and is relentlessly upbeat, something that will drive people either towards or away from it. Michel recorded a great deal of the album in Belize, meaning that it has a strong Caribbean influence, which helps to explain its sunny disposition. Almost every song has a touch of Afrobeat or reggae thrown in. It does make for a one-note kind of album; Michel isn't the most adventurous songwriter so there isn't anything challenging for the listener. Thankfully the contrasting vocals Sarah Harmer provides on final track "Binary Star" turn out to be the missing element that adds some additional depth. Sunset Sea finishes on a more promising note than it starts.