DAUGHTRY – Dearly Beloved (2021)

With three years since their last album, DAUGHTRY announces new LP, ”Dearly Beloved” due out September 17. The 13-track album features the Billboard Hard Rock Digital Songs Sales Chart #1 and Top 20 Active Rock Radio Hit ‘Heavy Is the Crown’, which lead the band’s upcoming headlining in-person tour kicking off this November 2021.
Though it could be argued that the singer’s most impressive achievement was breaking free of the curse of American Idol in the mid-2000s, since then Daughtry has established himself as a band leader and songwriter on his own merit.
With a string of hits and memorable anthems already behind him, ”Dearly Beloved’ promises to add even more to the collection, hitting mainly the right notes.

‘Don’t bore us, get to the chorus’ is a questionable nugget of wisdom that can often prove fruitful, and which Chris Daughtry has frequently practiced throughout his career. Yet on ‘Dearly Beloved’, Daughtry offers space for intros to build slowly, brooding over the arch of the narrative.
Songs such as “Lioness” and “Heavy is the Crown” feel comfortable in their pace, unrushed and with no sense of urgency, eventually erupting with guitars and drums. Even so, when the chorus does hit, it does so around the one-minute mark on both these tracks.

‘Dearly Beloved’ also features a handful of tracks that could and should come to be regarded as some of Daughtry’s best. “Cry for Help” is a massive ballad that fills your whole consciousness. Performed with an abundance of heart, elegance, and a wonderful lightness in Daughtry’s vocal delivery, this song could squeeze tears from the iciest souls.
Then comes “Somebody”, its musical and lyrical counterpart. If “Cry for Help” reaches out, “Somebody” offers a hand back, creating a lyrical call and response that asks the listener to give tomorrow a chance.

With ‘Dearly Beloved,’ Daughtry has again delivered a couple of hits, some great ballads, and an anthem or two for the road. This is modern rock with hard rock touches, modern but very well done and with a wide appeal from young people to old-school fans.
Highly Recommended

01 – Desperation
02 – World On Fire
03 – Heavy Is The Crown
04 – Changes Are Coming
05 – Dearly Beloved
06 – Cry For Help
07 – Asylum
08 – Evil
09 – The Victim
10 – Somebody
11 – Call You Mine
12 – Lioness
13 – Break Into My Heart

Chris Daughtry – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Josh Paul – bass, backing vocals
Brian Craddock – rhythm guitar
Josh Steely – lead guitar
Elvio Fernandes – keyboards, backing vocals
Brandon Maclin – drums, percussion

Pre order:
www.amazon.com/Dearly-Beloved-Daughtry/dp/B099C5G3NY