Daniel Montoya

Okay I didn’t know about Daniel Montoya until I got this CD in the mail and I took one look at it and said out loud, “lordy, lordy, lordy.” But as soon as the dang thing started playing inside my Apple desktop and pouring out sound through the B & W Nautilus speakers craftily hidden somewhere in my cluttered home office, I knew I was gonna have a good day. Montoya’s sense of exhuberance is infectious. He accomplishes this potent allure with a combination of informed musicality—he can play, sing and tell stories and how, yo—and a backing band that is totally tuned into his sense of tempo and timing. In fact, the band kills, adding a silvery sparkle to the ton and half of pure grit Montoya delivers on tunes like “Muddy Waters” and “Come On In.” - Weekly Alibi

I stumbled on this record eight or nine pages in on the "new folk" tab in Bandcamp's discover section, a testament to just how often fantastic music sits waiting in the bowels of the internet, and like every other record I was tabbing through to get a preview of, I clicked on the art for Montoya's sophomore effort and moved my cursor to the next one, waiting to bail as soon as I heard enough to make a judgement. It took two seconds of the record's closing track Come On In for me to know I'd listen to the whole thing.

I love this record because it does the ambient thing that is so hip right now, but he doesn't make us hear the ambient stuff for 7:59 seconds before he starts singing. The ambiance on this record is like a damn good set on a mid-level theatre stage, it serves its purpose and gets out of the way to let the real thing happen. For Daniel Montoya, for Tangerine Sunrise, that's the songwriting.

this house is warm, won't you come on in? / this house is warm, welcome home again

The pedal steel work on this record, provided by Alex McMahon, really ties together what might otherwise be a vaguely Americana-ish sounding rhythm section and places it squarely in the alt-country world. Montoya & Co. wisely utilize the classic sound and expression of the pedal steel to offset the guitar that dives into the sort of reverb-wet-mix-hotter-than-dry guitar that isn't too common in the country world.

Anyway I'm talking too much now. Just go listen to the record. - Margot

Sounds like: William Fitzsimmons, Ray Lamontagne, Travis, Avett Brothers

Why do we like this?

At it's core, songwriting is all about telling a story. Putting the listener into a place where they can feel what you're feeling, all while striking chords of their own memories and emotions. Singer-songwriter Daniel Montoya is doing exactly that with his track "On My Way."

Released a while back as part of his EP Nothing For Us, Montoya taps into the heart of Americana as he plucks his acoustic guitar along with his yearning filled and life-worn vocals.

By the second chorus "On My Way," it swells into a beautiful Brit-pop influenced affair, complete with drum machines and ringing electric guitar, until the song gently comes back to earth -- all reminding the listener of just how far they still have to go despite being on their way. But the hopeful tone makes me think that Montoya wouldn't want it any other way. - Indie Shuffle