After becoming a viral sensation with his quirky and often unpredictable coffee shop acoustic covers, Dan Henig has finally released his debut EP, Paper Planes & Hurricanes. Unlike the Youtube videos that started him on the path to stardom, this project explores the darker sides and sounds of love.
If you were looking for your typical happy-go-lucky collection of pop songs, you should probably look elsewhere; for Henig, attraction is more addiction ("Habit") than infatuation, exclusivity is more "Hostage" situation than commitment, and leaving goes beyond just failing, it's "Crashing & Burning". Emotions run rampant, and impossible to avoid the carnage in they leave in their wake.
Henig spent a considerable amount of time in Nashville and it shows throughout Paper Planes & Hurricanes. There is a slight hint of country instrumentation, mostly in the form of his acoustic guitar playing. However, his pop sensibilities transform these country/blue sounds into tracks that are easily accessible for fans outside of those two genres. "Crash & Burn" and "Paper Plane" toe this line to great effect.
Henig's voice is what holds the entire project together at the end of the day. He has powerful vocals, which seem to adapt to any situation or needs. The way he able to quickly go from ballad, to pop anthem is not impressive, but a strong sign for what is to come in the future. Unfortunately, he still needs to work a little more on the song writing aspect of his music, but that will come in due time.
Overall, Paper Planes & Hurricanes is a good first showing. Henig has grown as artist since his days on Youtube, but he still has a lot more maturing to go through. Check it out below.
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