Single Review: Hustle Bustle

For those of you who don’t know Danny McCrum has been around for a while and had a number of releases and worked with a long list is amazing musicians including Eric Clapton, John Butler Trio and John Mayer, to name drop a few.

He lives and breathes his music and also works on a podcast with Bobby Kennedy (OpShop) that is worth checking out called Don’t Give Up Your Day Job, as well as running his own entertainment and management company Paper Planes.

It hasn’t all be plain sailing though and at one point recently, Danny considered giving it all up as he was understandably feeling burnt out and quite negative about the pressures of being in the music industry.

After concentrating on session work he felt inspired while walking through the streets of Vienna where he says he heard the feeling of what his new album should sound like. If you are a musician you will get what he means.

That spark of renewed inspiration combined with the years of hard work has resulted in this title track off his new album Hustle Bustle.

It is a soulful piece of funk that has a dance/indie vibe all channelled through the sparkle of a pop filter. In the immortal words of Sade Danny is one smooth operator. The song instantly gets under your skin with its opening chords that drift away and allow the vocals to come to the fore.

This is 3.45 seconds of superior crafted laid back groove-laden music that will get you singing along. Listen again and again and you will sink deeper into the song’s infectious rhythm and genius song structure. The breakdowns are subtle but perfectly placed and there is a lot going on in a short space of time.

Hustle Bustle is delivered with an honest passion that clearly isn’t forced. It appears Danny has found his mojo again (if he ever lost it) and if this single is anything to go by then the new album is going to be one you should go buy.