I’m not usually a fan of country tinged pop music, however local singer-songwriter Alyssa McQuaid has a magnificent sense of melody and a beautiful mid-range on her second CD ‘Who Am I’  which even has me singing along.

McQuaid sounds a little like a young Terri Clark, setting the tone for the entire CD with the first, autobiographical track ‘Who I Am, as well as her sweet, innocent and down to earth down to earth image.
“Here With Me,” is another catchy, upbeat number, which features some subdued organ and keyboards played by Keith Floen, which is a highlight throughout the entire CD.

 She also has a couple slower, jazzier/ blues numbers including the haunting ‘Run, Girl,’ and ‘Into You.’
 ‘Stay Beautiful’  and ‘Perfect’ have always been a couple of my favourite Alyssa McQuaid songs, and they both shine here,  as ‘Stay Beautiful ’ almost even evokes a tear or two.
‘I Do’ is a pretty chipper number as well.

 In addition to her originals, she also tackles a couple interesting choices for covers.

Her version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah” is hauntingly beautiful and she puts an upbeat country pop spin on a superb version of Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ which really shows off her impressive vocal range.
‘Who I Am’ is aptly named, the  variety of music, subject matter as well as  the exploration of different genres really shows off who this talented young songwriter is and gives us a taste of hopefully the big things to come.

Cd: Who  Am I
Artist: Alyssa McQuaid
Genre: pop/ country
Record label: indie

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