By Jeremy Thacker
As I sat down and listened to Danny Kenny’s self-titled EP for the first time, I had full intentions of taking notes and writing my impressions of each of the songs. I didn’t know a lot about Danny; I had seen his viral TikTok but had never listened to any of his other music. I turned on “Only Us,” and when his voice came in five seconds later, I immediately forgot about all the notes I had planned on taking. Instead, I sat and listened for 20 minutes while a wave of emotional, soft piano pop washed over me.
The only note I had written was “Next Ben Platt or Jeremy Jordan. Get this guy in musical theater.”
I had the opportunity to speak with Danny afterwards, and shared this story. He laughed and told me how big of an influence Ben Platt and Broadway in general have been in his music. The son of two Broadway producers, Danny was raised in a musical home. This led to him starting his songwriting career in just seventh grade, an age where I spent all my time playing Pokemon Diamond. In fact, most of this EP was written and recorded when he was in just eighth and ninth grade.
The lead-off track, “Only Us”, is one of the few exceptions, having been recorded during his sophomore year of high school. This song feels very reminiscent of Pasek & Paul, the songwriting duo behind Dear Evan Hansen and La-La-Land. In particular “Only Us” reminds me quite a bit of Dear Evan Hansen’s “Waving Through a Window.” Aurally, they share similar themes – a ballad whose somber piano backing serves to emphasize the emotion of the lyrics, in this case a message of seeking refuge and sanctuary in a friend.
“Beauty” is another track that reminds me quite a bit of Pasek & Paul, though I’m not quite able to identify why. It just feels like a Pasek & Paul melody to me. This is also one of only two tracks on the EP to exchange piano for warm, acoustic guitar tones, which makes it stand out quite a bit.
“Lullaby,” the closing track, is the other one to swap in the acoustic guitar and is an extremely strong competitor for my favorite song off the EP. Inspired by his grandfather, “Lullaby” does an incredible job at describing the love that a parent has for a child. It’s one that I’ve taken to singing to my own toddler when she wakes crying in the night, an experience that has brought a tear to my eye more than once since I first heard it a little over a week ago.
“But I Do” leans jazzier than the other tracks, flipping the script from the preceding “Only Us” a bit by giving a fun song about being there for another friend. That track is followed by “Better This Way,” which leans harder into the piano and orchestral accompaniment to deliver a song about heartbreak and learning to let go.
On my first couple of listens I thought for sure the penultimate song, “I Wish You’d Stay,” was written about one of his first heartbreaks. It turns out the song was instead written as a joke about his friend’s older sister going to college. I never would have guessed this, especially considering the way this song leans into the backing from the piano and strings to create a bit more frantic melody, one that conveys the desperation of the lyrics.
I tend to group “But I Do,” “Better This Way,” and “I Wish You’d Stay” together because I share similar thoughts and criticisms for all of them. All three tracks are fantastic, but it’s in these tracks that you can really begin to see Danny’s youth. The lyrics do a great job of documenting the rises and falls felt while discovering love as a teenager, where everything feels so monumental.
On the musical side of things though, the inexperience comes through more on these tracks than the others. There are some beautiful string arrangements in the back of these songs that I want to hear more of. Additionally, there are a couple of moments in Danny’s vocals where shallow vowels took me out of the song a bit. These are extremely nitpicky complaints though, especially considering that these were recorded by a teenager, and Danny has already shown the ability to grow and improve in the other tracks featured in the EP.
During my conversation with Danny, I asked what the future holds for him. He very enthusiastically responded that new music is coming, and very soon. While I haven’t been able to listen to his new music, I can already tell you that it’s definitely worth watching out for. Danny proves his songwriting potential with this self-titled EP, and with some time to grow and learn even more after recording this EP the sky truly is the limit for what he can do moving forward.
Make sure to follow Danny Kenny on Instagram. You can listen to “Only Us” below!