| Brett Dennen — Por Favor (May 20, 2016) |
Brett Dennen — Por Favor (May 20, 2016) 
λ→ Produced by Grammy Award–winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson), Por Favor was recorded in Nashville and features ten new songs. Por Favor is Dennen’s sixth full–length album.
λ→ Earnest folk–pop singer/songwriter in similar company to John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and Jason Mraz.
Birth name: Brett Michael Dennen
Born: October 28, 1979 in Oakdale, CA
Location: Oakdale, CA
Album release: May 20, 2016
Record Label: Elektra Records (New Elektra)
Duration: 39:00
Tracks:
01 What’s the Secret? 2:50
02 Cassidy 4:29
03 Stand Up for It 4:00
04 Bonfire 3:26
05 Strawberry Road 3:45
06 Another Life 3:51
07 Where We Left Off 4:00
08 Burning Spirit 3:05
09 Tengboche 5:13
10 I’ll Be on Your Side 4:21
Credits:
λ→ Brian Allen Bass
λ→ Dave Cobb Clapping, Guitar (Ac.), Guitar (El.), Mixing, Percussion, Producer
λ→ Whitney Coleman Vocals (Background)
λ→ Brett Dennen Composer, Guitar (12 String Electric), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Baritone), Guitar (Electric), Vocals
λ→ Jimmy Fontaine Cover Photo
λ→ Rob Gold Art Manager
λ→ Pete Lyman Mastering
λ→ Gregg Nadel A&R
λ→ Chris Powell Drums, Percussion
λ→ Kristen Rogers Vocals (Background)
λ→ Craig Rosen A&R
λ→ Matt Ross–Spang Engineer, Mixing
λ→ Joshua Skubel Producer
λ→ Jon Solo Keyboards, Mellotron, Organ, Piano, Wurlitzer
λ→ Shane Stern Production Coordination
λ→ Virgilio Tzaj Art Direction, Design
Notes:
λ→ #PorFavor Is Out NOW (link in bio) Today is release day. I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Please, pretty please, spend some time with Por Favor. Let it grow on you. This is an intimate record and all I want is for it to make you feel. Please be open to feel. I’ve been on the road for a couple weeks ahead of the release, playing most of these songs. They’ve gone over well, but I’m ready to play them to an audience that’s familiar with them. Thank you for waiting. Thank you for being here. Thank you for letting me express myself and allowing me this life of an artist. Now it’s time to see where this takes me, hopefully it brings me to your town. To all, the best Brett.
AllMusic Review by Timothy Monger; Score: ****
λ→ Since making his debut in 2004, Brett Dennen’s amiable folk–pop has earned him a loyal following and placed him among some of the previous decade’s more prominent contemporary pop troubadours, from Jason Mraz to Ray LaMontagne. While he hasn’t quite enjoyed the success of those acts, it’s certainly not for lack of trying. His wealth of hooky melodies and thoughtful acoustic musings has been spread out over five strong releases and his almost John Denver–like aura of sincerity gives him an approachable allure. On Por Favor, the singer’s sixth effort, he strips his music down to the barest essentials to create what is easily his most vulnerable and intimate album. Admittedly worn thin by a relationship on the rocks, family trouble, and a health scare, this is a Dennen we’ve never heard, with a noticeably frayed spirit and a searching heart. The feeling of heightened sensitivity and the minimalist production from Nashville’s Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell) gives Por Favor more of an organic and timeless feeling than any of Dennen’s prior work, and his quavering high tenor has never sounded so appropriate to the material. But even in his darkest hours, Dennen’s breezy style and humble demeanor make him come off like a fallen optimist trying to retune his antenna sunward. Light tones of calypso and reggae color tracks like “What’s the Secret?" and “Stand Up for It,” and the rhythm section of drummer Chris Powell and bassist Brian Allen pepper the tunes with a roomy, off–the–cuff vibe. On his sunnier moments, Dennen evokes the loose, rootsy vibe of American Beauty–era Grateful Dead, and there’s even a reference to Jerry Garcia on the hushed standout “Strawberry Road.” Recorded in just a couple of weeks at Cobb’s all–analog Nashville studio, the performances are loose and honest, with tape hiss filling the gaps between chords on quieter tunes like “Where We Left Off” and the bittersweet closer “I’ll Be on Your Side.” As both a writer and a singer, Dennen has never sounded so fragile and unpolished and it’s a perfect fit for this fantastic group of songs.
Website: http://www.brettdennen.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brettdennen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brettdennen
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| Brett Dennen — Por Favor (May 20, 2016) |
λ→ Earnest folk–pop singer/songwriter in similar company to John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and Jason Mraz.
Birth name: Brett Michael Dennen
Born: October 28, 1979 in Oakdale, CA
Location: Oakdale, CA
Album release: May 20, 2016
Record Label: Elektra Records (New Elektra)
Duration: 39:00
Tracks:
01 What’s the Secret? 2:50
02 Cassidy 4:29
03 Stand Up for It 4:00
04 Bonfire 3:26
05 Strawberry Road 3:45
06 Another Life 3:51
07 Where We Left Off 4:00
08 Burning Spirit 3:05
09 Tengboche 5:13
10 I’ll Be on Your Side 4:21
Credits:
λ→ Brian Allen Bass
λ→ Dave Cobb Clapping, Guitar (Ac.), Guitar (El.), Mixing, Percussion, Producer
λ→ Whitney Coleman Vocals (Background)
λ→ Brett Dennen Composer, Guitar (12 String Electric), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Baritone), Guitar (Electric), Vocals
λ→ Jimmy Fontaine Cover Photo
λ→ Rob Gold Art Manager
λ→ Pete Lyman Mastering
λ→ Gregg Nadel A&R
λ→ Chris Powell Drums, Percussion
λ→ Kristen Rogers Vocals (Background)
λ→ Craig Rosen A&R
λ→ Matt Ross–Spang Engineer, Mixing
λ→ Joshua Skubel Producer
λ→ Jon Solo Keyboards, Mellotron, Organ, Piano, Wurlitzer
λ→ Shane Stern Production Coordination
λ→ Virgilio Tzaj Art Direction, Design
Notes:
λ→ #PorFavor Is Out NOW (link in bio) Today is release day. I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Please, pretty please, spend some time with Por Favor. Let it grow on you. This is an intimate record and all I want is for it to make you feel. Please be open to feel. I’ve been on the road for a couple weeks ahead of the release, playing most of these songs. They’ve gone over well, but I’m ready to play them to an audience that’s familiar with them. Thank you for waiting. Thank you for being here. Thank you for letting me express myself and allowing me this life of an artist. Now it’s time to see where this takes me, hopefully it brings me to your town. To all, the best Brett.
AllMusic Review by Timothy Monger; Score: ****
λ→ Since making his debut in 2004, Brett Dennen’s amiable folk–pop has earned him a loyal following and placed him among some of the previous decade’s more prominent contemporary pop troubadours, from Jason Mraz to Ray LaMontagne. While he hasn’t quite enjoyed the success of those acts, it’s certainly not for lack of trying. His wealth of hooky melodies and thoughtful acoustic musings has been spread out over five strong releases and his almost John Denver–like aura of sincerity gives him an approachable allure. On Por Favor, the singer’s sixth effort, he strips his music down to the barest essentials to create what is easily his most vulnerable and intimate album. Admittedly worn thin by a relationship on the rocks, family trouble, and a health scare, this is a Dennen we’ve never heard, with a noticeably frayed spirit and a searching heart. The feeling of heightened sensitivity and the minimalist production from Nashville’s Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell) gives Por Favor more of an organic and timeless feeling than any of Dennen’s prior work, and his quavering high tenor has never sounded so appropriate to the material. But even in his darkest hours, Dennen’s breezy style and humble demeanor make him come off like a fallen optimist trying to retune his antenna sunward. Light tones of calypso and reggae color tracks like “What’s the Secret?" and “Stand Up for It,” and the rhythm section of drummer Chris Powell and bassist Brian Allen pepper the tunes with a roomy, off–the–cuff vibe. On his sunnier moments, Dennen evokes the loose, rootsy vibe of American Beauty–era Grateful Dead, and there’s even a reference to Jerry Garcia on the hushed standout “Strawberry Road.” Recorded in just a couple of weeks at Cobb’s all–analog Nashville studio, the performances are loose and honest, with tape hiss filling the gaps between chords on quieter tunes like “Where We Left Off” and the bittersweet closer “I’ll Be on Your Side.” As both a writer and a singer, Dennen has never sounded so fragile and unpolished and it’s a perfect fit for this fantastic group of songs.
Website: http://www.brettdennen.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brettdennen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brettdennen
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