Dan Israel’s latest single, ‘How Do I?’ is all based around a rhythmic strum that draws the listener in gently and surely as other musical layers are added to a song that grows steadily. Over the top, Israel finds an absorbing, tuneful melody with his characterful voice as he sings sensitively about a loving relationship: “How do I tell you how I feel? // How do I show you that it’s real? // How do I thank you for standing right by me? // How do I love you in the way that you ought to be loved?” It’s disarming in it’s open-hearted honesty and the vibe is more chilled than many of Israel’s songs, which are often driven by his rock ‘n’ roll influences.
Israel says of the song: “A love song, plain and simple. Except love isn’t that simple – it can get mighty complicated. You go through lots of things with someone you love, and many loving relationships still experience lots of highs and lows. I love how this song turned out in the studio. Even though it’s not a ‘full-band rocker’ type of song, everyone in the band contributed truly beautiful touches to it, sonically. Me and my band (yes, we’re all ‘dudes’ in the core band) may present as tough-guy rockers sometimes, but I think at heart we’re a bunch of softies – you can hear that in how everyone in the band played on this with so much real heart and soul.”
After many years of balancing his songwriting with his work for Minnesota State Legislator, Dan Israel finally took the brave step of focusing just on the music in 2017. Since then the prolific singer-songwriter from the Twin Cities has been busy, releasing two themed albums just before and during the pandemic: ‘Social Media Anxiety Disorder’ and ‘Social Distance Anxiety Disorder’, both receiving critical acclaim. After that double release, a new set of songs emerged that focus on troubled times, both personal and political. The collection of rocking and rolling songs benefits from a host of talented artists making musical contributions and the vibrant cover art was supplied by Minnesota artist Laura Bennett. The brand new album, ‘Seriously’, was released at the beginning of December and is well-worth checking out. ‘How Do I?’ is a fine introduction to the record.
