INVOKING the righteous bluegrassy, feminine country strength of a fine line of songwriters that stretch back through First Aid Kit and Shelby Lynne, and right on back to Dolly back herself, Scottish country chanteuse Rianne Downey is back and proud with her strumsomely lovely new single, “Do Or Die”, in which she moves on from a lover with Hamlet’s fatal flaw – procrastination.
“I hope you find all you’re searching for, whatever that may be,” she sings; “Hesitation cost you the life you could have lived,” with that sobering tone of a hurt already healing with a knowledge of exactly where she needs to go and where she needs to be.
Still just 21 and so on the ascendant, Rianne hasn’t let a little thing that like a global pandemic halt her rise from word-of-mouth social media talent to having sold out a vinyl run of her debut EP, Fuel To The Flame – on pretty lovely red and black marbled wax, at that – and a sold-out hometown show at Glasgow’s legendary King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut on Friday, September 24th. And all before this, only her third actual single drop.
“Do Or Die” comes from the same sink-or-swim burst of creativity as when the 21-year-old faced the bleak Covid shutdowns, penning tracks such as “Stand My Ground”. Empowerment is the currency we’re dealing in here, and “Do Or Die” is sent out into the world as a source of strength for every soul that finds themselves lost once in a while.
Rianne says: “Why wait for tomorrow? There’s been times when I have really wanted to do this, but not wanted to fail. At the end of the day, there’s no option but to. ‘Do Or Die’ is about getting to the point of trying. Now is always the right time.”
In addition to her sold-out date in Glasgow, you can also catch Rianne at Manchester’s Night and Day Café on Thursday, September 23rd.
Rianne Downey’s “Do Or Die” is out now on all digital streaming platforms.
Connect with Rianne on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
