Single Review: Darla Beaux’s ‘Summer Dream’

It’s summer in January with Darla Beaux’s warm and cheery single “Summer Dream,” off her upcoming EP “Rebel Soul.”

Written by Beaux’s producer, KC Price, the song is a witty, smart, yet casual glimpse into summer love. Sung by the 14-year-old Georgia native and Vegas transplant, it’s easy to dismiss it without listening first. With a cavalcade of teen pop stars in the wings, their abundance on reality shows and on the Internet, it seems like every mediocre talent has a stage nowadays.

But after this track’s opening ukulele riff gets you interested, Beaux’s voice keeps it.

Beaux does not sound like your average teen. A charismatic concoction of Colbie Caillat and Lenka, grounded in classic soul and Motown, this kid has “it.”

It never feels like you’re listening to a teenager who has yet to experience so many of life’s defining moments. She’s an “old school,” sure, but she’s “sweet like a sugar rush” too. That has a lot to do with Price’s beautiful and fun lyrics. The hook plays with opposites in a way that it reads like a teenage girl’s diary entry, but has enough foresight and intelligence to catch the ear of those offended by radio-friendly pop tunes.

In so many ways, it’s a coming of age tale. Not so ironically, it’s almost as if Beaux grows up during the course of it all. In the beginning, she’s shyly soft, but as the song goes on, her vocals become smooth, sexy, strong and serenely passionate.

This is the type of song that teenage girls will sing in unison during the ride to school. Their fathers will hum along, but will attempt to not let their daughters know they know the words.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13872 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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