Darren – Not Quite the Next George Michael
Darren
Anything is Possible
Shark Meat Records
By Michaud Savage
When I received Darren’s CD Anything Is Possible, I was eager to listen to this London transplant’s music. After a few measures of amateur synth and drum machines, I was unimpressed. One would think that settling into New York City’s West Village would inspire something fresher and more provocative than dance-pop like this.
After processing the first few tracks, the sad reality of this album set in. Though Darren captures a very club-dance-y vibe, a la George Michael, any gratification from the groove was immediately nullified by his lyrics. “We can’t change the effects of the butterfly’s wing†is almost as bad as, “On the outside everything looks fine/ But on the inside I’m fading fastâ€.
Darren
Anything is Possible
Shark Meat Records
By Michaud Savage
When I received Darren’s CD Anything Is Possible, I was eager to listen to this London transplant’s music. After a few measures of amateur synth and drum machines, I was unimpressed. One would think that settling into New York City’s West Village would inspire something fresher and more provocative than dance-pop like this.
After processing the first few tracks, the sad reality of this album set in. Though Darren captures a very club-dance-y vibe, a la George Michael, any gratification from the groove was immediately nullified by his lyrics. “We can’t change the effects of the butterfly’s wing†is almost as bad as, “On the outside everything looks fine/ But on the inside I’m fading fastâ€.
I admit his voice is nice, but nothing else stood out. The cover art appears to have taken a good deal of thought, but struck me as pretentious and inadvertently comical. It was so clear that he didn’t really know where he wanted to take this project when he started it, and that what he ended up with was something completely fake and homogenic.
I am interested to hear where Darren takes his talents. With some polishing and development, I think that the hard work he puts into getting things going for himself could also change his music into something, well, better.
Unfortunately, when I got my feet wet with Anything is Possible, the depth of Darren’s music only reached my ankles. – (3/10)