Firebrand blues, roots, rock, and soul vocalist and multi-instrumentalist
Grace Potter has endured her fair share of life changes since the release of her sophomore solo outing
Midnight. Forged in the crucible of divorce (from
Nocturnals bandmate
Matt Burr), marriage (to
Midnight and
Daylight producer
Eric Valentine), and motherhood (she gave birth to a baby boy in 2018), the 11-track feels hard-won but remarkably sanguine. It helps that
Potter and
Valentine have dialed back some of the slick AOR pop sheen that made
Midnight so divisive. Personal upheaval can often have a grounding effect, and
Daylight sees
Potter attempting to recover some of the bar-band swagger that marked her work with the
Nocturnals while keeping an eye on the pop charts. The saucy "Love Is Love" sets a warm, tube-driven tone, framing
Potter's smoky croon against a slow-burning, Stax-inspired groove. The fiery "On My Way" follows suit, but cranks up the tempo with a thumping "Jumping Jack Flash" back beat. Both tracks are fine, but
Potter cracks the code on the mid-album stunner "Release," which ditches the bells and whistles in favor of a simple piano and vocal arrangement that plays to all of her strengths. Four of the songs feature backing vocals from
Holly Laessig and
Jess Wolfe, both from Brooklyn-bred indie pop quartet
Lucius, and they add some sweet, gospel-ish textures to soulful workouts like "Back to Me" and "Desire," but
Daylight works best when
Potter is steering the ship. Even with the considerable and seasoned talents of
Valentine,
Nocturnals alum
Benny Yurco, and keyboardists
Larry Goldings and
Benmont Tench behind her,
Potter commands the room. ~ James Christopher Monger