Love earns: Dennan wins with folksy compilation

By: Oliver Kleinenberg

Posted: 12/1/08

Here is a tasty compilation of songs you can bake by combining five parts Bob Dylan, three parts Jason Mraz, two parts John Mayer, and one part James Taylor for that extra zest. Set the temperature on the oven to 2004 and leave for about four years. Voila! You have Brett Dennen's new album "Hope for the Hopeless."

Dennen is described as the "next folk songwriter since Bob Dylan." Rolling Stone magazine named him on their 2007 "10 Artists to Watch" list. He has toured with John Mayer and Guster and has written music with Jason Mraz.

His new album promises a lot more for his rising fame. Although his raspy voice touches on many issues ranging from religion, friendship, to freedom in San Francisco, the majority of the songs found on this 11 track CD that came out Oct. 21, are based on the concept of love.

Even with this primary theme he still manages to broaden the field.

This theme changes from blinding to lonely love in the ballad "So Far from You" which is a beautifully finger-picked guitar song. Nothing could replace this lucky lady since he cannot endure the "miles and miles and miles between" them. The lonely topic quickly takes a sharp turn for the worst when it becomes the issues of love such as the emptiness after break up which is found in the song "When She's Gone." This compilation of wisdom explains the true emotions people show and portray when they are at a certain phase of a relationship.

Of course no one ever sings about the insane things people do for love. Well in Dennen's song "Ain't Gonna Lose You" he starts out with a cute line about being the "butt of your jokes" which he will endure through. This cuteness soon turns into craziness when he starts singing about turning his back on his friends.

Not all of his songs are about love. His best songs on this album are the ones not dealing at with this subject. His song "Heaven" deals with all religious aspects found in the world and that none of them are better than the other. In the end "castles and cathedrals crumble" which signify the older religions that have not succeeded.

Another great song is "Who Do You Think You Are?" which has a primary lesson of not being "afraid of the hands you played" in life. In short he is saying to be happy with who you are since it doesn't matter who you are since "they all sit at different tables, but they drink the same poison," making everyone human in the end.

Dennen must be watched with eyes open. There is still room for improvement but he has done a lot of that since his last album so he is on the fast track to success. It is rare to find an artist nowadays with such gifted lyrical skills.