Australian singer-songwriter Dean Lewis just released his debut album ‘A Place We Knew’ on March 22 and Lewis is already receiving an overwhelming amount of support.
With this album being two-and-a-half years in the making, Lewis released Waves, his first lead single, in September of 2016 on his EP ‘Same Kind of Different.’ It has since become certified x5 platinum, which is huge for any artist, especially for one that is just starting out in the industry. His second major single Be Alright, which came out in June 2018, became his first Top 40 hit in America, leading to a major jump in his career before his first album was even released.
Released under Island Records and Universal Music Australia, the 31-year-old’s debut album features 12 songs, two being Waves and Be Alright. Lewis does a great job combining his original sound when he started releasing music three years ago, and a new sound with the intent to break into the American music industry.
Out of the 12 songs, only four were any sort of upbeat, but Lewis chose one, Hold of Me, to kick off the album, which really sets the tone of love and heartbreak in a unique way, gradually leading up to the ‘punch you in the gut’ songs. It is raspy, folky and everything that the rest of his album is not.
The other three upbeat songs, Stay Awake, Straight Back Down and Time to Go, which are all nostalgic and arguably weaker than the rest of his album. His previously mentioned EP featured 6 songs (with only one featuring a faster tempo) and it is pretty obvious which type of song typically does better for him.
For the rest of the album, his style remains pretty much the same with few experiments with music. Slow pace in the verses, then picks up the pace slightly in each chorus. And while that could be off-putting to some people, I see it as a welcomed consistency.
Out of all the comments on his videos, posts and albums, the overwhelming majority of people listening see him as Ed Sheeran 2.0, and I don’t think they are that far off with that statement, though I think that influence was just the icing on the cake.
The easiest comparison to spot would be Sheeran’s song Bloodstream compared to Chemicals, which is just a slower version with the same idea (though Sheeran did it first in 2014). Besides that, I’d say you could also compare him to any alternative/Indie artist that released music in the early 2010’s, such as Snow Patrol or Mumford and Sons.
While his style isn’t exactly something we’ve never seen before, it’s amazing to see him grow as fast as he is without being the typical teenage heartthrob that so many artists use as a crutch these days. His voice truly speaks for himself.
While not every song is necessary to make this album (I’m looking at you, Don’t Hold Me), there is no doubt that this isn’t the last of Dean Lewis we will see in the next few years. As long as he continues to write music like he has been all these years instead of leaning towards mainstream, upbeat pop, his is only the beginning.