Canada is no stranger to great country music and has bred undeniable talent all across its vast land, but it’s a little more rare to stumble upon a voice with such power and prowess as we have with Lynne Taylor Donovan. 

From the Okanagon in British Columbia, Donovan has been performing and perfecting her sound since she was a young girl and her latest album Movin’ On, the second installment of her Full Circle series, shows just how far this Canuck has come while leaving us eager for the culmination. 

Sounding off with the moody Lies, we see Donovan enter what we earnestly describe as somewhere between Carrie Underwood and The Band Perry territory. It’s a dirt-kicker country anthem for bruised-hearts who have found themselves at the unfortunate receiving end of disingenuous relationships and it’s tough not to jump into action swinging along with the band who perfectly capture the tone of the lyrics Donovan shares. Her unique west-coast twang would have you fooled that she’s actually a Texas native which is just to say that these days, while people have a lot of ideas about what constitutes a great country music, it’s not always found in the southern States. 

The Strong One, a number 1 hit in the United Kingdom, is a beautiful ballad driven track where the band largely lays back and allows Donovan’s soul to pierce through each word, accenting the verses with stunning strings and piano lines that draw you in like a well-laid flight path on your return trip home. “You don’t have to be the strong one every day, let me do my part, don’t carry all the weight,” she reminds us in the song’s chorus as a welcome relief lifts off our own tense shoulders. Given the way North American life seems to have shifted in recent years to become more and more individualistic than community driven, the sentiment is particularly powerful to our ears today and we feel encouraged by the idea that there are artists like Donovan putting forward the importance of shared experience and camaraderie. 

Well timed after the emotional ballad of The Strong One, we get a sense of Donovan’s superb command of pop with the bouncy sing-along Sugar Lake. It’s a summer party anthem that would sit nicely beside modern country fan-favorite Luke Bryan, just country enough to keep the die-hard fans of the style  engaged while being rock and pop enough to satisfy the palette of those less in tune with the constantly expanding genre. 

On I Don’t Wanna Mention Any Names, Donovan really shines. Her vocal is gritty in parts as she pours every bit of honesty behind the emotionally charged lyrics, while also flawlessly moving into gorgeous falsettos. Drawn on top of eloquently performed piano, it’s the track on the album that has you imagining yourself in an elegant lounge and being immediately moved by the sounds emerging from the stage that it completely captivates your attention, whether you were there with a date or wallowing solo. When Donovan sings, “Somebody who lost you is still crying their name,” your gut immediately wrenches. It’s powerful, simple, and yet remarkably sensitive to the grief that comes with great loss. 

If you were expecting the album closer Tennessee Whiskey to be a bar-stomper, you’d be mistaken, but you’ll be just as pleasantly surprised as I was that it’s not (we don’t really need more of those in this climate, by our count they’re 3 sheets to the wind already). Instead the album takes a stroll down memory lane of a former love and the warmth and tenderness that was felt when they were together. It’s a great casual night cap on what’s otherwise a relatively high-energy pop-country album and eases you into a relaxed state, largely in thanks to the angelic harmonies that sit ceremoniously underneath Donovan’s steady and emphatic voice.

While we didn’t touch on ever song in the 10-song ablum, all in, Movin’ On has all the makings of a classic country album with a tender Canadian twist. 

Movin’ On officially releases on April 12th and the album’s first official single The Letter has already been released to radio in parts of Canada, the USA, Europe and more. 

Keep up with Lynne Taylor Donovan by visiting her website.

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