have to say I was really looking forward to this album and the fact that it is almost three years since 2008's "Hope For the Hopeless" only raised my expectations. In 2007 Dennen was named by Rolling Stone magazine as an "Artist to Watch" and in 2008, Entertainment Weekly called him one of its eight "Guys on the Rise" and certainly the "Hope..." album confirmed that he certainly had talent and promise.
So why is "Loverboy" such a disappointing album? Were my expectations too high, or was Dennen over-hyped to the point where he was destined to fail? There are certainly some bright, poppy songs on the first half of this album, so much so that it sounds like he's been listening to the back catalogues of Van Morrison and Paul Simon. That said, he's certainly not in the same league as those two and I'm afraid that the initial charm of "Sydney", "Comeback Kid" or "Surprise, Surprise" fades very quickly due to lack of real substance.
What made "Hope..." such a promising album is sadly lacking here and it sounds as if Dennen is really trying too hard. The confident narrative of "San Francisco", the beautiful, understated "Heaven" and the pained determination of "Ain't Gonna Lose You" all but seem to have disappeared. And if anyone tries to tell me that "Queen of The Westside" is experimental, I'll give up on all this new music and go back to my King Crimson vinyl.
I'm not saying this is a bad album, because it's not, it just fails to progress or deliver on so many points. If you're new to Brett Dennen I'd suggest you give this a miss and start with his previous album.