On Sunset Drive, Denitia invites listeners to celebrate change with songs delivering stories of love and growth without shying away from hard times. An album that frankly considers the losses that can come with major life changes, including the desire to run from a routine that doesn’t satisfy and contemplating the end of a stable, if unexciting relationship, could feel heavy in the hands of a lesser artist, but Denitia beautifully interweaves these themes alongside songs about finding new love and embarking on new adventures, and taken together, these threads create a beautiful tapestry of experience.
On the title track, Denitia sings “everything is beautiful even when it falls apart,” a sentiment that carries throughout the album–on Sunset Drive optimism reigns. While much of Sunset Drive borrows from indie sensibilities, including the restrained, wistful delivery of “Lavender Coast” to poppier songs that swell with alternate rock appeal including “I Won’t Look Back” and “Holding on to You,” there is more than enough to satisfy even the most stringent of country diehards. “Gettin’ Over” sounds like it could have been plucked from the rotation of any classic country station with its upbeat vocal delivery and rollicking pedal steel.
Perhaps the most traditionally country song on the album, pairing a classic sound with lyrics that tackle daily money anxieties–bills coming due, car issues, a traffic-filled commute to a joyless job–Denitia manages to make surviving the daily grind sound like a celebration. If “Gettin’ Over” doesn’t become a fan-favorite sing along or a line dancing go-to it will be a shame.
With songs ranging from ballads to upbeat country toe-tappers, Sunset Drive has something for all tastes. “I Don’t Get High” is sweet as honey while serving as a lament of a relationship fizzling out. Unlike many break-up songs that tread heavily in revenge or wallowing in despair, “I Don’t Get High” invokes nuance, exploring the emotional landscape of someone considering ending a comfortable relationship after the initial infatuation has faded. It’s in these bittersweet moments that Denitia’s skillful lyrics and expert delivery become apparent–anyone can say they’re sad or angry or growl into a mic, but it takes a true artist to invoke the ambiguity of someone contemplating uprooting themselves from comfort and ease to pursue the passion they crave. If there was ever a break-up song for a couple destined to remain friends, this is it.
“I Won’t Look Back” is a stand-out, a song about the blossoming love of “two cowgirls in luck, country tunes turned up” and treads far into Denitia’s indie rock influences, opening with lilting lyrics delivered over guitar and drums, before moving into a fast, almost staccato vocal delivery in the chorus where the pedal steel comes in to great effect. Denitia’s melodic delivery paired with Brad Allen Williams’ skillful instrumentation create a sound that is at once innovative and familiar, and welcoming to a broad range of listeners. Sunset Drive might be the perfect entry point for indie fans suspicious of country, while still pleasing genre stalwarts suspicious of country evolution.
A touring member of the Black Opry Revue and one of CMT’s 2024 Next Women of Country, Denitia continues to carve a space for herself in the canon of country with Sunset Drive, expanding the sonic landscape of the genre and ensuring her legacy as a creative force.
Denitia — Official, Instagram, TikTok
You can be a part of queer country history when you support Rainbow Rodeo, the ONLY magazine dedicated to queer country!