Pulse Magazine:

Dan Chauvin’s Small Town Life
By Matthew Holcomb, November, 2010

Singer/songwriter Dan Chauvin (whom you may remember as one of Pulse’s Up and Comers from a couple of years back) has carved his name into the hardwood of the New England folk scene with his captivating live performances, unique voice, and signature finger-picking technique. His newly released album, Small Town Life, proves why Dan is such a respected part of that scene.

Chauvin, born and raised in Northbridge, weaves songs of small town experience with an unmistakable New England aesthetic. Small Town Life, boasts nine robust tracks that will please the musical palate of many folk aficionados, but also win him a host of fans new to the genre.

The opening track, “Coyote,” ensnares you almost immediately with Chauvin’s intricate guitar technique, and the moment he unveils his vocal ability you realize…he has you.

Chauvin is a storyteller; he narrates with musical tales including title track “Small Town Life” as well as with other tracks of love lost but not forgotten. There are stories that elate and those that dwell in despair ~ but never cease to be lovely. They are deeply personal and genuine songs that seem to haunt a familiar collective memory of both listener and performer.

Though the lion’s share of the album falls into the acoustic folk realm, Chauvin seamlessly explores sounds that range from hard country to road house electric riffs, and his technique and craft remain strong throughout.

Amidst the resurgence of folk and neo-folk, Chauvin’s work has inspired comparison to Stevens and Taylor, but with Small Town Life, it is quite clear that he cut a musical path all his own.

Purchase Dan's CD Small Town Life, recorded at Juke Village Studio

Bill Copeland Music News

by Bill Copeland, February 18, 2011

Singer-songwriter Dan Chauvin has released his third CD, Small Town Life, and it is surely a personal glimpse into his old hometown. His lyrics are full of insightful reflection and each song is a heartfelt rendering of a personal tale.

Chauvin opens with “Coyote.” His light, handsome voice finds the tender spot, soothing the ear while breezily laying out his thoughts, an easy-going approach that makes you feel that he wants to share. A violin melody reaches emotive depth as Phil Punch’s percussion and Chauvin’s acoustic guitar weave colorful splashes of sound. From there, Chauvin tenderly finesses his lyrics in a space between the instruments.
Mandolin and fiddle, played by Troy Engle, weave a sweet rootsie tapestry in the title track that makes one think of a simpler time. Chauvin’s voice is beautiful against the backdrop of acoustic melody. He really knows how to construct the musical frame to hit the listener’s emotional bulls eye. Guest vocalist Susan Levine provides a lovely contrast with Chauvin’s smooth, tender male vocal. When Chauvin briefly holds a note, his reaches a soulful solitude.

On his tune “Absolutely Nowhere,” Chauvin’s voice resonates with sensitivity over his acoustic and Lori Diamond’s quite piano tinkling. Diamond’s voice works perfectly with his as she shadows him on his haunting chorus. Likewise, “Golden Red Horizon” tugs the ear with Chauvin’s earnest, sincere vocal gliding over an emotive violin and gentle acoustic guitar. He doesn’t just play the guitar. He coaxes different moods out of it, and he makes them fit his vocal approach like a glove. Guest vocalist Susan Levine lays out another layer of loveliness as Chauvin presents fond feelings he has found deep inside himself and brought forward with personal courage.

Chauvin and his other female co-vocalist, Lori Diamond, are a beautiful union on “Step Into The Light,” a lyrical piece about living with tremendous loss. As a songwriter, Chauvin weaves pedal steel, mandolin, and his own acoustic guitar and Don Hooper’s bass into a warm blanket of tender feeling and forlorn hope. Hooper does his job with such subtle touch you’d only miss him if he suddenly wasn’t there. Troy Engle’s mandolin and pedal steel take the song’s emotional state and magnifies it, stretching it out into other dimensions, like a song that reaches out to everybody, past and present. The listener, then, cannot help but to feel what Chauvin was feeling when he wrote it.

A perfect combination of piano, acoustic guitar, and layered vocals is found on Chauvin’s “Save Me.” Lori Diamond’s pretty voice lends itself well to filling the space around Chauvin’s handsome vocal. Each note here is perfect, subtle, and touching. “Never Go Back” finds Chauvin getting himself a country-fried edge and steady beat. This song comes fairly close to the territory of Merle and Wayland, and that vintage country works well with the huskier side of Chauvin’s vocal. This aggressive piece is another important shading on Small Town Life. This time, Chauvin is singing about leaving that life. His music makes you feel his courage and his gritty sense of adventure.

“Said And Done is an introspective, lyrical song sung with gentle ease inside a chamber of tone forged by sharp electric guitar and hypnotic percussion. Chauvin’s voice finds the perfect space inside the intricate musical passages. Troy Engle’s pedal steel rings out with true beauty over the haunting landscape of Don Hooper’s bass and synth string.

A professional hunter, Chauvin closes out this CD with an ode to his sport called “Duck Hunting.” He multi-tracked himself making duck calls and he uses the special effect at the beginning of the song. Not only does it sound like a flock of ducks, it makes you feel as if you’re on a lake in the morning. Of course, the song is about more than duck hunting. It is Chauvin’s tale of life in a once sacred rural place. Kristen Miller’s cello and Don Hooper’s synth violin create a perimeter of emotion around the heartfelt words rolling out of the singer-songwriter.

By the end of the CD Small Town Life, listeners will likely feel as if Chauvin has taken them on a walking tour of his old stomping grounds. They will also come away from the experience enriched by all he has shared.