NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Breelan Angel
By
Bob Doerschuk
© 2013 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
You’re
a strong young woman who loves going out with friends. Yet you know that even
this simple plan can be like weaving between roadblocks, many of them strangers
asking for your phone number.
Breelan Angel’s It’s My Turn
offers a map through this obstacle course. Produced by Dwight Baker for
MisBhavin’ Records, it suggests that empowerment is a major draw to the “girls’
night out” experience, whether as a declaration of well-earned independence
on the title cut (written by Angel, Greg Barnhill and Joanna Cotten), anticipation
of an upcoming San Marcos, Texas, idyll in “Feeling No Pain” (Angel and Clay
Mills), a confrontation with a rival for her man’s attention on “Walk of Shame”
(Angel and Shane Stevens) or going face-to-face with a barfly who’s being just
a little too friendly on “Real Good Night” (Angel and Rachel Thibodeau).
But that
last song is deceptive: When the beat slows and stops and Angel speaks directly
to the guy, her message is optimistic about what may — or may not — follow.
It’s more about hope than hostility. Her treatment of this encounter is surprising
— and assuring. The Baytown, Texas, native appears to be co-writing from experience
on each of these 10 tracks. (Of course, Angel could have written as well about
the time she spent at Southern Methodist University or mulling over the idea of
studying law, but that somehow sounds less inspirational.) And if it’s imagination
more than real-world events that underlies her songs, that says even more about
her insight and empathy.
IN HER OWN WORDS
SONG
YOU WOULD LOVE TO COVER
“‘Crazy,’ by Patsy Cline. I’m
a sucker for the oldies!”
PET PEEVE
“I hate
when people leave wet towels on the floor.”
DREAM DUET PARTNER
“Definitely
George Strait. It would be the biggest honor to get to sing with him.”
PHRASE
YOU FIND YOURSELF SAYING OVER AND OVER
“’Good goat’ –
it’s something I always say instead of ‘good grief’ or ‘oh, my gosh.’”
TITLE
FOR YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY
“Glass Half Full.”
On the
Web: www.BreelanAngel.com
On Twitter: @BreelanAngel
Breelan Angel
Photo credit: Melinda Norris