4Play

Nov. 30, 2008

James Morrison - Songs for You, Truths for Me - Interscope
James Morrison’s up front emotions at first would seem to be just too sentimental for mainstream indie-pop - but upon repeated listens, that actually seems to be exactly why his songs work. If he’s not as sincere as he sounds, then he’s got some darned good vocal acting skills, because it’s his openness that ends up making this set appealling. Morrison’s slightly husky, soulful vocals keep things from sounding too sweet, which could’ve sunk him, given the romantic nature of the songs here, from “Save Yourself” to the encouraging “Dream on Hayley” to his duet with Nelly Furtado on “Broken Strings.” It’s just this side of corny at times, but Morrison’s earnestness sees the set through.

Pompeii - Nothing Happens for a Reason - Eyeball
Orchestral and poignant, Pompeii’s anthemic pop-rock tracks blend their instrumental skills with sentiment to make an appealling set of songs as produced by C.J. Eiriksson (Jack’s Mannequin.) If you like bands like Leaves or Matt Pond PA, chances are you’ll like Pompeii, too - they aren’t the same, per se, but they do share the same sensibilities of dynamics and attention to musical nuance. Some of the songs are romantic, some more bitter, standouts being songs “What Kind of Future,” “Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Roads,” “The Viking,” “Sit and Wait,” and the title track; given the arrangements and the detailed instrumentation, it’s even more impressive that this was recorded in just a week.


Brett Dennen - Hope for the Hopeless - Dualtone
Comparisons to other soulful folk-rock singer-songwriters abound in a flurry about Dennen - John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Bright Eyes - and, to some degree, they’re correct - but weaving through this set are indications that he might become something more. Opening with a somewhat tepid number, things start improving once Dennen collaborates with Femi Kuti, and shows that he can write solid pop ballads in “Heaven,” and “When She’s Gone,” although the plinky piano on “Wrong About Me” and the somewhat lecture-y lyrics on tracks like “Who Do You Think You Are?” are a bit off-putting; but there’s definitely room for improvement once Dennen pushes his talent past these musical growing pains.


Parts & Labor - Receivers - Jagjaguwar
Originally more of a punk band, this Brooklyn quartet has channeled those energies into stacks and stacks of sound, making big noises with plenty of instruments and some interesting arrangement choices. Unfortunately, they don’t have their formula solidified yet; although there are some standouts instrumentally and melody-wise, such as “Satellites” and “Nowheres Nigh” and a few of the songs even draw in such influences as Brian Eno or Wire - most of the songs are derailed by one of two problems. One, their lyrical immaturity, and two, the leftover punk approach, which sometimes finds them simply playing everything too loud, making for one big sludge of sound that’s more annoying than anything else.