Album Review: Dami Im – Heart Beats (Deluxe)

Australian recording artist Dami Im became a household name after taking out the crown in The X Factor Australia’s fifth season in 2013, and if you have been following her progress since day one you just can not deny her superstar potential; her self-titled album spawned the chart topping hit Alive and gave us a look at the songs that Im had taken on during her time in the competition. Now in 2014, and as bold as ever, the starlet has released her highly anticipated second album Heart Beats; during a recent interview with Renowned For Sound’s Brendon Veevers, Dami mentioned she wrote/co-wrote the bulk of the songs, as well as having the choice as to which songs made the album. She also said that the whole album represents who she is as a person and an artist, and we can’t wait to give it a spin!

In May Dami returned to the airwaves and the Aussie charts with her uptempo hit Super Love, it’s a triumph with its energetic aura and it’s as catching as the common cold; Gladiator meets its predecessor on the same wave length, becoming Heart Beats’ second top 20 charting single, it’s another upbeat pop number sure to get your heart pumping. Living Dangerously serves as the album’s third and current single, proving another radio friendly pop hit sure to make its imprint on our brains, its lyrics are delivered explosively about stepping out from the norm to live to the full; Without You is a heart wrenching pop ballad about moving on from a broken past relationship. The light hearted Moment Just Like This is a fun little boppy number that shows us Dami Im without her signature vocal belt; the arrangement in the verse of Speak Up want to take off, however it leads into a chorus where the primary focus is Dami, which brings the overall message of the song home.

Originally a Macy Gray song, Beauty In The World is the perfect cover choice for Dami, its playfulness in the melody suits her well; Let Go is another admirable ballad by the songstress, a sad reminder that time doesn’t always heal everything. Dami’s uptempo world rises again with One More Time, but this isn’t the dancekind of pop we experienced with Super Love, it’s an edgier approach with attitude; Heart Beats Again is a ballad led by acoustic guitar and atmospheric percussion, showing us the beautiful rawness behind the powerhouse Dami is renowned for in her vocal. The Hunger doesn’t leave you starving, it’s more of the upbeat Dami pop we are really growing a love for; Heart So Dry tugs at our heartstrings once again, Im’s voice has such a grace and beauty in this track, just when you thought you heard it all. Solid Ground (Stop The World) proves Dami doesn’t need too much production behind her, and Beautiful is your cliche pop number about self-recognition of your own beauty. Lastly, the deluxe edition wraps it up on an acoustic version of Without You, a warm and raw take on the original track.

Heart Beats proves a great effort from Dami Im and should successfully launch her career as a songwriter, not only a performer which started her journey. It’s almost been a year since she won X Factor and she should be proud of what she has achieved since through the success of her singles and the overall hype and anticipation surrounding her first release of original material; the overall sound and delivery of Heart Beats demonstrates an artist who is truly putting her heart and soul on the line to show Australia the true artist and person that is Dami Im, each track has its own story to tell and part to play to make the release one of this year’s stand outs.    

Marcus Floyd