BRETT DENNEN - SMOKE AND MIRRORS (ALBUM)

Brett Dennen is unique... almost objectively so. He survives, thrives and is held in high regard (amongst those in the know), in a world of popular music that more often than not, regards image more important than substance.

With a voice as original as his image, he isn’t exactly going to fit snugly into a polished boy band (some say turd), multimillion dollar selling machine like One Direction. Nor would he want to I’m sure. It almost pains me to even muse on such a topic. However, having said that, it is part of his allure. Bespectacled, freckly and ginger, with a strong Californian nasal accent, he draws the listener in solely with his melodic and brilliantly crafted songs, subsequently quashing any preconceived notions they might have had by looking at his latest photo shoot.
His sound along with his image is almost reminiscent of Neil Young or Bob Dylan. Not because his music literally sounds anything like the two, but because he emits pure originality, free from the constricts of conventional aesthetic and sonic tropes. With pure heart, soul and evident passion, Dennen emanates beauty from every strum of the guitar and squeeze of his unconventional but wonderfully distinctive vocal chords.

On his latest collection of tracks from his 5th studio album entitled Smoke and Mirrors, Brett lives up to this gushing sycophancy. The opening track “Sweet Persuasion” moves along at a pace that you can’t help but move to yourself. Short and sweet clocking in at just three minutes two seconds, it says what it needs to say. The guitars bob along like a joyful rubber duck down a steady river with almost Paul Simon like flare, all this accompanied by an understated yet perfectly matched rhythm section. The cherry on the cake is Dennen’s brilliant voice, there’s just something peculiarly enticing about it. “Sweet Persuasion” is a wonderful track about seduction (or persuasion as the title infers) in the cutest way possible. I defy the heaviest of hearts not to feel uplifted by it.

The rest of the album happily follows suit taking the listener on a breezy, sun filled journey, margaritas and a BBQ would be a very fitting accompaniment indeed. Other notable tracks include “When we were young” - It’s surprising opening soft synth riff is closely reminiscent of Pulps “Common People”, it swiftly morphs however into what could have been a summer anthem for any weary recent university graduates. This sounds like a bad thing, but considering todays job employment rate this is exactly what that demographic needs! The albums title track is a sleepy lullaby dissecting a dying relationship - “Don’t let smoke and mirrors make it cloudy. The truth you cannot see is hard to define” - it’s clear just from listening to this song that Brett Dennen has encountered some serious heartbreak in his time, and it’s excruciatingly hard not to empathise for him. The song is almost painfully beautiful, with backing vocals that Crosby Stills and Nash would be proud of. A must for anyone with a heart!

As I write this, it’s a typically “Scottish” October night outside (anyone who has spent any time here during this month will know it has the propensity to be particularly ‘dreich’) but listening to this album I could just as well be on an open top road trip down to Laurel Canyon, or sipping beers with a group of close friends in a park somewhere. It just has a good feel to it. If you haven’t heard of Brett Dennen and just want to get to the good stuff, this would be a great album to start out with.

"Smoke and Mirrors" is out now via iTunes and all other music retail outlets.