Very much in the Damien Rice/James Blunt/etc. arena. But all slow, all sad, all depressing.

The album gets to be a bit of a drag if you listen to it all in one go. In the same way that other albums (say, Kaiser Chiefs) can be a little too “one note” on the upside, this album is a little too much on the downside. Whereas say Damien Rice or James Blunt do have some songs that are at least at different tempos, if not in slightly better moods.

That said, I loveloveloveLOVE the first two songs: “Hoquiam” and “Denton, TX”. I have listened to the two of them back to back approximately 57 times in the past two days. Sad, so sad. But so pretty!

Sometimes things don’t live up to the hype. But sometimes they do, and in this case, even better than.

Everyone’s talking about Queen and glam-rock, but there are so many other influences obvious here as well. 90s anthem rock (Boston/REO), with a dose of punk thrown in, and several songs that bring Smashing Pumpkins to mind. It’s loud and sassy and upbeat and fun. And the hidden track has a real Morrissey/Smiths feel to it.

Balme, you will love this. And Michelle, I think you would as well.