Photo byDoug Deutsch Publicity Services

Denise La Grassa has released a new album. It’s titled “Sundown Rising.” But first, for those of you not yet familiar with the artist in question, a bit o’ background.

Denise La Grassa

Photo byMark Gordon

Denise La Grassa is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. The Chicago, Illinois-based artist was also once a member of the Second City tour company. Her rockin’ resume is highlighted by several previous projects including her 2023 premiere platter “The Flame” and the chart-breaking single “Better Day’s Coming.”

Signature Sound

Denise La Grassa’s signature sound is a musical melange of multiple music genres including blues, country, folk, funk, gospel, jazz, roots, rock, and soul. On her website, she refers to it as “bluesy rootsy soulful rock” and describes it as “my take on the blues.” Her songs are inspired by her thoughts on events both past and present.

“Sundown Rising”

“Sundown Rising'' is a nine-track album. The title is a reference to historical “sundown towns” which no longer exist. The release includes one cover cut and eight originals that La Grassa wrote or co-wrote. On this release, La Grassa leads the way on organ and vocals.

She is backed by a number of other artists including Steven C Manns on bass and background vocals, Mike Gee on drums, and Stephen Ryan and John Kregor on guitar. In fact, according to her website and other online sources, La Grassa has co-written numerous songs with Kregor in the past. They worked together on such previous platters as “April Dreams” and “The Blues Ain't a Color”.

Track by Track

The album opener, co-written with Kregor, is also the title track. “Sundown Rising” concerns American “sundown towns” where non-whites were once told to leave before sunset. It’s not so much of a song-story as an abstract offering. It is more emotive and focuses on her feelings about the now non-existent places. Although it somehow sounds rooted in the blues, it has its own standout melody. Mississippi Heat's Pierre Lacocque, who also appears on “The Flame”, guests on harmonica, to make the cut complete.

The second selection is the jazz-injected “None of Your Business.” Here she aims her site on social media (back before too many people got sidetracked posting their unsolicited political opinions as opposed to showing everyone how wonderful their lives allegedly are. This one has familiar musical moments, but it is another original co-written with Kregor.

The next number is the funky blues bit “Hope In Love.” This positive piece on love has an effective backbeat and a bit of a gospel feel thanks to La Grassa’s gutsy vocals and stand-out guest artists The Nunn Sisters, a gospel choir, including Aprelle Mitchell-Smith, Iris Nunn, Tecara Parker, and Dahlia Manns.

“Key to the Highway” is the disc’s sole cover cut. Nevertheless, even though the song was co-written by Charlie Segar and Big Bill Broonzy, La Grassa’s solid signature sound shines through here. Lacocque encores on harmonica.

They pick things up again here with “Vision of Good Rule Makers.” It’s an original tune by La Grassa and Kregor that takes a shot at politicians with no sparing of musical energy. Undoubtedly this one is fun to play for a live audience.

The tuneful team-up of La Grassa and Kregor continues with the beautiful albeit somewhat dark ballad “The Door.” It is highlighted by a comparatively stripped-down musical arrangement and a distinctive sense of musical drama.

Not to be confused with the 1991 number by Van Morrison, this “Sweet Talk” is a La Grasse original. It comes complete with jazzy, memorable musical elements.

“Quit Your Whining” follows here. While it is admittedly the shortest song here, it retains its own sense of identity. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to make a strong statement. In essence, the message here is: “Quit your whining before I quit you.”

Times are tough and constant complaints don’t make it any better. Prioritize and pick your battles. Anne Harris guests on violin on this up-tempo track.

The closing cut is “Loving For Love’s Sake.” With a new arrangement by Bates, it blends both rockin’ blues with the slightly slinky. Lyrically emphasizing what is important in life, it’s an effective album endnote that might just leave you wanting more.

Overall…

Overall, this new album successfully showcases La Grassa’s ability to put out blues-style songs that have a show-biz feel. While she explores some of the usual concepts of life and love, she also explores an assortment of unexpected themes including social media, normalized tragedies, politics, and racism. Ah, but despite any initial expectations of negativity associated with some of those topics, La Grassa and company always try to inject each cut with an underlying sense of hopefulness as she works to balance her oft’times emotional lyrics with the music. So check out Denise La Grassa’s “Sundown Rising'' and open “The Door'' to a new musical experience.