Dawn Melanie EP Review: ‘’Be the Light’’

Reviewed by Duzzy Clayton

Dawn Melanie is a new artist who I am very excited about. Her appearance on the scene has quickly come to my notice and I’m so happy it did because I’m instantly a fan.

Dawn has just released her 3 track EP with all three tracks being awesome. I would describe her sound and the genre of the EP as having a majestic Celtic sound to the music.

Beginning with the lead single track called ‘Remember How’, which is I think is a great track to start off the EP, is a very chilled track with acoustic guitar throughout the song and some cool drumming accompanying Dawn’s uniquely beautiful voice. The lyrics of the song remind me of the significance of having hope and relating it to what my interpretation of its meaning is. A phrase of the lyric that keeps chanting throughout is ‘Do you remember how..”; singing about still being childlike, still being human and treating each other with respect despite the changing scary world we live in. The song perfectly reflects the times we are living in now and battling globally, reflecting wars, riots and a pandemic. One aspect that I also like about this song; and this song is definitely a track that will get stuck in your head; is that you will find yourself singing it to yourself throughout the day.

Track 2 is a song called ‘Burn the house down’ which is very different from the first track. This track is much livelier with more of an upbeat kind of a sound. I think anyone who lives in South Africa (and maybe even other parts of the world) can relate to this song as it speaks about the Government and the frustration of citizens towards THE MAN who is supposed to be there for the people and fix the country’s problems; but nothing ever gets done. Once again: a song about today’s world that we’re living in and that we can all relate to. And again: I find the song has hope despite the problems we are facing; and no matter how small we may seem, if we stick together, we can make a difference.

Track 3, the final track on this short EP, is the self-titled track of the EP called ‘Be the Light’. It starts slow and laid back; the song picks up tempo; and develops into a cool lively track. I find the lyrics uplifting; which is reflected in the song and EP’s title ‘Be the light’. You are truthfully told that you are going to feel inspired by this song, if you could just take that leap of faith trusting your fire to be burning bright. I found this track a great way of ending this EP.

I can picture listening to this EP when I want to feel inspired and need some cool lyrics and music to motivate me. It can also be listened to while sitting around a traditional South African braai with some friends while having a few drinks.

If I have a critical comment to make of this EP and I mean this in the best positive way, the EP is very short and I wish it had more songs because it kind of left me wanting more. BUT, having said that, I can confirm Dawn Melanie is busy with the making of a full 10 track release towards completion. So, it’s good to know that there is much more to come from this awesome musician. I am pleased with this little taster of the EP and I’m really looking forward to what this exciting musician is going to release next.

‘Be the Light’ will be available on all online streaming platforms which can be found in the social media links below