Dan Croll performs live at the Deer Shed Festival in England on July 24, 2015. (Photo by Yaffa Phillips)
British singer/songwriter Dan Croll demonstrated a canny knack for translating studio techniques into an arresting live performance when made a stop in DC on Friday at the Rock and Roll Hotel.
Dan Croll released Emerging Adulthood, his second studio album, via Kobalt Music Group and Communion Records in July. In conjunction with the record, he’s launched a headlining tour that arrives at Rock and Roll Hotel on Friday, Sept. 8.
Dan Croll likes things to be a little off-center, much like Norwegian siren Aurora, for whom he is opening at the 9:30 Club on Monday. (Aurora? Catch up with her in our preview of her show!)
The UK electronic folk artist sings in an agreeable manner, but he enjoys putting a bit of an uncomfortable twist on his work, such as in the video for his latest single “Swim,” released in August.
Watch the official music video for “Swim” by Dan Croll on YouTube, and see what I mean:
Dan is an intriguing musician to watch, which is what makes it compulsive to come out early and see him at the 9:30 Club on Monday, Oct. 31. “Swim” is the first single from his upcoming second album, due in 2017 via Communion Music. Judging from the new song, Dan may be angling for more of an R&B sound than he employed in his debut album Sweet Disarray in 2014, but he’s always voiced admiration for approaching pop music from different angles.