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When country singer and Fairport native Alyssa Trahan beat feet to Nashville in 2016, it was with a dream and a handful of songs that she had tested out on the hometown crowd. Now, she’s testing her music out on a much broader audience with “We Used to be Happy,” a single from her upcoming album “Baby Blues & Stilettos,” due to drop this spring.
Trahan’s beautiful voice and sincere, even bashful delivery precede her, but there’s a kind of Nashvegas veneer to the new single that indicates that it’s slightly over-written. That isn’t to say it’s a bad song. I just long for simplicity when I listen to country, and in particular, Trahan’s music.
She co-wrote the song with three other writers, but the resulting pop-music gloss seems to dull the authenticity that’s so present in her live concerts. If the powers that be want to give Trahan wings to reach the next level, they’d better leave the flying — and writing — to her. She won’t let ’em down.
Frank De Blase is CITY’s music writer. He can be reached at fdeblase@rochester-citynews.com.
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