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Hannah Dasher: ‘The Half Record’ – Review

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Hannah Dasher’s The Half Record EP is out today, July 9, on all streaming platforms. Featuring tracks such as “Left Right” and “Girls Call the Shots”, check out our full review below.

With a sound and style that’s unapologetically country, Hannah Dasher’s new project, The Half Record, is out today, July 9. Rather than bending to the pop-country sounds that tend to monopolize country radio today, Dasher’s collection of songs is a joyous compilation that pays homage to the biggest names in country, including the likes of Reba, Dolly, Trisha, and Miranda.

Dasher was recently named a member of 2021’s CMT Next Women of Country Music, and The Half Record clearly shows why. Additionally, Dasher co-wrote all but one of the project’s five tracks. She shows her solid writing chops on tracks such as “Leave This Bar,” “Shoes,” and “You’re Gonna Love Me.”

The Half Record opens with the sultry “Leave This Bar,” a rocking mid-tempo telling the tale of the Friday night bar prowl, an ode to looking for someone to head home with. “The beers are real cold // The band sounds good // Everything feels like a Friday night should,” she sings. “Got drinks in the air // We’re dancing in the dark // But everybody’s looking for a reason // To leave this bar.” While some female country singers would probably hesitate to sing on such a seemingly taboo topic, Dasher embraces it here, providing the perfect intro to this EP.

“Left Right ” is asking a man to step up and propose or she’s out. Dasher is through with a wishy-washy dude here, and she sells it perfectly. “It’s time that you made up your mind // Are you in or out?” She asks on the incredibly catchy and clever tune. “You better put a ring on her left right now.”

On “You’re Gonna Love Me,” Dasher embraces who she is, unapologetically herself. “I ain’t for everybody, but I don’t try to be,” she admits on the track. Meanwhile, on “Shoes,” she knows that she’s a catch, as she invites an ex back for a second chance. “If I were in your shoes // Baby, I’d come running back to me.”

Dasher shows her softer side on the EP’s lone ballad, “Girls Call the Shots.” It is a ballad about the impact of women on a man’s life. Nonetheless, guys may buy the drinks and think they rule the roost, but when it comes down to it, it’s girls who make the rules. 

In her official bio, Dasher reveals that she was once fired from a job at Bass Pro Shop for writing songs while working. We’re so glad she was. On this debut project, Dasher isn’t introducing herself with a whisper, but with a resounding and welcomed shout. Overall, on The Half Record EP, Dasher is unabashedly herself, equal parts grit and glam, and the result is magical.

Country Swag Picks:

  1. “Left Right”
  2. “Shoes”
  3. “Girls Call The Shots”

The Half Record EP Tracklist:

  1. “Leave This Bar” (Hannah Dasher/ Brandon Hood/ Tim Nichols)
  2. “Left Right” (Hannah Dasher / Wynn Varble / Brandon Hood)
  3. “You’re Gonna Love Me” (Andy Albert / Thomas Archer / Hannah Dasher / Gordie Sampson)
  4. “Shoes” (Hannah Dasher/Trannie Anderson/Jake Rose)
  5. “Girls Call The Shots” (Brad Warren, Brett Warren, David Frasier, Lance Miller)
Hannah-dasher-new-music

Hannah Dasher’s ‘The Half Record’ is out now, July 9th

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Hannah Dasher announcements and releases.

To keep up with Hannah Dasher, follow her on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. 

The Half Record is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

Who Is Hannah Dasher? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music

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Who is Hannah Dasher? Learn more about this fiery rising singer-songwriter in our Swag Spotlight interview below.

Hannah Dasher

Our Swag Spotlight shines on Georgia native, Hannah Dasher and all of her funny, charismatic glory. In our most recent chat, Dasher’s incredible personality was apparent as she told our Managing Editor all about growing up a child of ’90s country, even calling herself the youngest member of the Alan Jackson fan club. “I hated to read as a kid so instead of reading storybooks, I would read album covers front to back, who the producers were, songwriters, and of course the lyrics,” she explained. “Alan Jackson’s lyrics really spoke to me because he was from Georiga like me, and he talked like I did, so conversational, I thought he was a badass.”

After college, Dasher moved to Music City and couldn’t make a living with her music business degree so she took a job at Bass Pro Shops which just happened to be in the same parking lot as the Grand Ole Opry. “I lived in an attic on Belmont Blvd and slept on a mattress on the floor, ate bologna sandwiches and peanut butter jelly every day and I’m still carrying some of those carbs with me,” she laughed. Her honesty about the hard road to “making it” in the music industry is refreshing and her determination is evident. She got fired from her day job for writing songs on the job but it turns out, one of those songs ended up being her first cut as a songwriter, a song for Brad Paisley called “Go To Bed Early”.

Shortly after that, Dasher signed a publishing deal and starting working and writing with some incredible people in Nashville including Jaren Johnston of The Cadillac Three. Eventually, her fiesty personality, kickass lyrics and unique approach to traditional country music landed her a record deal with Sony Music Nashville. “I think the Lord makes you wait for something that you really want to have so that you’ll really appreciate it, I firmly believe that,” she tells us.

During the COVID19 pandemic, she lets us know that she took some much needed time to really allow for personal growth, putting her now in a place that she is mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and career-wise the best place she’s ever been. She loves cooking and decided during quarantine to use the popular app TikTok to spread some joy and some delicious comfort food recipes. Her ‘Stand By Your Pan’ series has garnered her over half a million followers and showcases her personality, her voice, and her knack for great southern cooking.

Her latest release, “Girls Call The Shots” is an outside cut written by Brad and Brett Warren, David Fraiser, and Lance Miller that she tells us she fell in love with the moment she heard it. “I always write my music but I have never been opposed to listening to outside music because I know that there are songwriters who are here solely to be songwriters and they live off the royalties of artists with major record deals cutting their songs.”

Her ability to blend vintage, traditional southern country with a modern twist is something fans are craving right now in the genre, and paired with her bubbly charisma, we just know you will love her.

To keep up with Hannah Dasher, follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

For all your country music, tours, songwriters, news, and releases, fans can subscribe to our Weekly Round-Up newsletter here.

“Girls Call The Shots” is now available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released music here on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

WME & Sony Music Nashville Present: A Celebration of Women’s History Month

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She Is The Music Women

Seaforth and Rachel Wammack

On Monday night, Sony Music Nashville and booking agency WME teamed up to present “A Celebration of Women’s History Month,” a night benefitting She Is The Music, a non-profit organization that focuses on increasing the number of women in music and gender equality in the industry. The night’s spotlight artists were Carlton Anderson, Rachel Wammack, Seaforth, Robert Counts, and Hannah Dasher; some of Sony’s newest artists on the roster. And hosting the night were beloved media personalities and journalists, Hunter Kelly and Ashley Eicher, the duo behind the All Our Favorite People Podcast.

WME booking agent, Carrie Murphy, was invited to start off the night by introducing the crowd to what She Is The Music was, and how the organization creates a platform for women to hone their craft and be supported on their journey in the music industry. “Girls can’t be what they can’t see,” shared Murphy.

The night took us on a chronological musical journey through country music’s finest women’s hits through the decades, from the 1960s all the way to 2010. Kelly and Eicher not only hosted the night but provided valuable summarized facts on social issues and the songs’ commercial success in each focused era.

She Is the Music Women

Robert Counts

Kicking the night off was Robert Counts, who covered Loretta Lynn’s hit song, “You Ain’t Woman Enough To Take My Man,” that was originally recorded in 1965. “This might get weird…I feel weird,” joked Counts before he sang. “[Loretta] taught me a lot about songwriting. She has done a lot for my career [and] is a huge influence.”

Up next they focused on the 1970s, a time period where the feminist movement took place. In fact, because of the inundation of this movement, TIME awarded its “Man of the Year” award to “American Women” in 1975. Covering Dolly Parton’s second single and one of Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” was Rachel Wammack and Seaforth. The soaring harmonies from both acts almost gave “Jolene” a hauntingly different version that’s been never heard before.

She is The Music Women

Hannah Dasher

The 1980s was a time when women were not getting fair wages, and part of the movement against inequality was Parton’s “9 to 5,” which was featured on the movie of the same title. The movie aptly depicted the social circumstances women were in the and workforce of that era. Hannah Dasher lent her voice to a rocking, feet-tapping cover of it.

Still keeping it in the 80s, Carlton Anderson came up on stage to pay tribute to Barbara Mandrell and her song that became a hit at the height of the urban cowboy craze, or as Kelly jokingly called it, “the early version of bro-country.” Anderson, the most traditional country-leaning act of the night, undeniably shined in his element as he sang Mandrell’s 1981 hit song, “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.”

SHe Is the Music

Carlton Anderson

The next half of the night transitioned to the beloved 1990s onwards, and it was that era that saw a promising record number of women elected into congress. Dasher returned on stage to cover Reba’s “You Lie,” with Big Machine Record’s Dan Smalley, who she introduced as “the closest thing to Vince Gill.” Following their performance was Anderson, who came back with his rendition of Patty Loveless’ “You Don’t Know Who I Am.” “I grew up listening to this song. […] When you figure out what it’s really about, it kinda hits you in the chest, and I think that’s the beauty of this genre.”

Perhaps two of the biggest highlights of the night were both from Wammack. The Muscle Shoals, Alabama native shared how several people told her when she first moved to Nashville that she “sounded like Deana Carter when [she] spoke.” Wammack played the keys and sang two of country’s timeless ballads of the 90s: Carter’s “Strawberry Wine” and LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live Without You.” Introducing the latter song, Kelly shared the history of its release, and how two of country’s women, Rimes and Trisha Yearwood, both had released the single at the same time. Unsurprisingly, the 23-year-old really captivated the crowd as soon as she started playing.

She Is the Music Women

Seaforth

One of our 2019 Artists to Watch, Seaforth’s Mitch Thompson and Tom Jordan were back, and gave a refreshing cover of Shania Twain’s 1997 hit, “You’re Still The One.” Again, the duo’s harmonies packed a punch and proved why they’re Nashville’s next biggest Australia transplants in country music.

Closing the nostalgia-filled night was Counts, whose unique and raspy delivery invigorated the wistfulness of Miranda Lambert’s first number one song and her fastest-rising single to date, “The House That Built Me.”

What a night that took everyone a trip down memory lane, visiting decades of iconic hit songs from trail-blazing women in country music! If there’s one thing we’re hoping for after the show, it’s that somehow, these young acts record each of their spins on the songs they covered and share it with the world. One thing’s for certain: Sony’s newest exceptionally-talented class of acts are here to stay.

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