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Brandon Dalby - Thoughtful, Melodic, and Progressive
Review By Dude Rockstar
Email: bigbadmoon777@hotmail.com

First, the rain.

Time offers few moments of resonance.  The birth of your child, the death of a beloved pet, and your first love.  I include Brandon Dalby's music in a similar category.  My first experience with Brandon Dalby's "Echo's Hill" told me I'd heard the strongest melody in a decade.

"Echo's Hill" begins with contemplative, clean, nylon-string delicacies bathed in the natural music of rain from above.  Dalby's melody is first and foremost. 

At the :54 mark his electric guitar "echos" the main theme.  What moves me about Dalby's playing is the powerful and fragile way he pulls the notes from the neck of his guitar.  Listen to the note at 1:06.  The slide up and into that note pierces, commands, and directs the movement of the music it swims in. (Listen to this section here!  56K Mp3)

Dalby knows his dam is about to break.  He wants to tell us.  But, we're not ready yet.  He's got to do his best to build a wall that pushes aside the waters when they finally come.

2:23.  Mark that time.  At 2:23 we finally learn what Brandon Dalby wanted us to know.  The strength of his theme is now a pillar of protection.  The rain may burst the dam, but the waves of Mr. Dalby's harmonies and towering melody will part the waters before they ever get close.

If this all sounds like hyperbole, I challenge you to listen from 2:23 to 3:23.  (Listen to the first part here!  56K Mp3) If there's a more powerful statement of purposeful music available, I'd like to hear it.  The passionate lead work to close the song is a "must-listen" thirty seconds or so.  Brandon's lead at the end of "Echo's Hill" places him in an uncluttered place on the shelf of modern guitar.  Dalby deserves a nod as one of the best unsigned guitarists around.

Dalby says about his playing, "I was introduced to classical guitar when I was 14 and took four years of lessons. I began playing electric guitar when I was 16 and have been exploring various playing styles and techniques ever since."

In his late 20s, Brandon Dalby rides high.  His trained ear and layered compositions show us the way of a potential visionary.

Brandon Dalby's credits include multiple "Pro War" victories at GuitarWar.Com.  "Echo's Hill" and Dalby's other work can be found at http://www.brandondalby.com.