Album Reviews

On album number five, mellow folkie Brett Dennen sounds surprisingly upbeat and ends up with his most pleasant album to date. “Smoke And Mirrors” starts off with “Sweet Persuasion” which sounds like something Paul Simon forgot to write. Equally head-bob-inviting are “Wild Child”, “When We Were Young” and “Out Of My Head”. All of these songs come with poppy rhythms with an acoustic emphasis, which turns out to be a perfect match for Dennen’s delicate voice. He sounds even more fragile on slower tunes like “Only Want You”.

It makes “Smoke And Mirrors” a beautiful album that will put a smile on your face during the more upbeat tunes while reminding you why you liked Brett Dennen in the first place during the slower jams.