UMC.org Music Review
Brett Dennen: So Much More
Label: Dualtone
Sound/Style: Airy alternative folk-rock with reggae influences
By Steve Morley
(UMC.org)--In his brief career, newcomer Brett Dennen has survived one of the worst things that can happen to a young singer-songwriter—being compared to Bob Dylan. The so-called "New Dylan" label has hobbled the careers of many folky types who couldn’t thrive in the shadow of that association,. It’s redundant to say that any folk singer is filtering Dylan, so visible is his fingerprint on the genre. The young Californian pens a mean lyric, but he has too many un-Dylan like facets for the comparison to harm him. For one, he can be disarmingly transparent and compassionate—even at his most cutting, he sidesteps Dylan’s trademark anger and irony on his sophomore effort So Much More.
Dennen’s affection for reggae king Bob Marley often imparts an ebullient island flavor to his spacious and organic sound. "The One Who Loves You the Most" is a lover’s grand vow of protection and loyalty, at least until the final verse offers something grander still—the secret to self-acceptance: "When you forgive your imperfections/ And you've auctioned all your clothes/ And you look to see your true reflection/ You will be the one who loves you the most."
Like both Dylan and Marley, who engage in social and political commentary, Dennen can deliver a grave message, zeroing in on centuries of injustice. On "I Asked When," he hovers above history to scan the Holocaust, wars past and present, disfranchised groups and current social issues: "And all the burdens centuries accrue/ They get passed to every generation's youth/ And all the allegories told in lieu of truth/ I watched them grow wild and spread like the flu....I saw poisons pushed in the street/ Prescription pills mingling in the mezzanine/ With the whole wealth of doctors and pharmaceutical companies/ Still poor people were dying from disease/ And I asked when is the revolution?"
Dennen’s discomfort with earthly life crops up between his unexpectedly youthful and romantic moments, pointing to eternal concerns on cuts like "There Is So Much More": "I wanna free my feet from the broken glass and concrete/ I need to get out of this city/ Lay upon the ground stare a hole in the sky/ Wondering where I go when I die."
He identifies potential threats of the present day in "Ain’t No Reason," but finds enough faith to keep fear at bay: "People walk a tightrope on a razor's edge/ Carrying their hurt and hatred and weapons/ It could be a bomb or a bullet or a pin/ Or a thought or a word or a sentence/ There ain't no reason things are this way/ It’s how they've always been and they intend to stay/ I don't know why I say the things I say/ But I say them anyway/ But love will come set me free."
Although Dennen says he doesn’t know why he speaks the things he does, the improbability of that statement subtly counteracts the title’s equally questionable claim of random and unexplainable global turmoil. One could argue that Dennen seems too sharp to believe either deception—sharp enough, in fact, to avoid stepping into the quagmire of controversy over the chaotic world conditions of which he sings.
Like his musical mentors, Dennen delves into religious subject matter, but without Marley’s derivations of Scripture or Dylan’s fiery prophesying. His is a quieter spiritual sensibility, and songs like "Someday" reveal a search still in progress. "So many ways in which to reach for the sky," he says early in the tune, but concludes saying, "My salvation's ahead of me, I can feel it calling me." Though only in his twenties, Dennen’s artistic voice is distinct and self-assured. His coming-of-age song "When You Feel It" might seem premature in the hands of a lesser talent, but Dennen’s rhythmically and intellectually engaging disc, So Much More, is proof that a new talent has arrived.
Audio Clips
"Ain't No Reason"
"There Is So Much More"
"Darlin' Do Not Fear"
"Because You Are A Woman"
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