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Debbii Dawson’s “Too Strange for the Circus” is lusciously genre-less, drawing on colors from a wide range of influences. The breakout country-pop artist has graced listeners with a new release, unveiling a deliciously fresh sampling of sounds. 

A sultry bass line plods confidently beneath a crisp drum track, exchanging a playful percussive conversation. Meanwhile, Dawson’s voice is instrumental in itself, surfing vocal scoops and register shifts with ease. There’s a breeziness blurred across her whole sound, balanced out by the emotive country twang in her delivery. Her voice lays at the center of the mix while currents of background vocals sweep across the soundscape. They lilt with silky nonchalance for some lines and prod rhythmically for others, highlighting certain lyrics. 

Dawson describes an all-too-familiar isolation in “Too Strange for the Circus”—the floating loneliness of feeling just a few steps too far to be in anyone else’s orbit. She waltzes around a space metaphor, leaning into the weightlessness of the feeling: “I’m too strange for the circus / too human for Mars / too deep for the surface.”

“Too Strange for the Circus” follows Dawson’s recent EP, Learning, a pop-country triumph of perspective. In this project, listeners were introduced to Dawson’s delicately determined voice and musical identity. She coasts seamlessly from classy orchestral arrangements to upbeat earworm choruses. Now, with “Too Strange for the Circus,” we get a peek into a more indie landscape, playing with electronic sounds and production space. 

This new release is an exciting glimpse of what’s to come for Dawson, blending country, pop, and all things in between for an achingly relatable hit. 

Watch the "Too Strange for the Circus" lyric video below: