Review of: 'Runaway' by Passenger

It's been too long since we've talked about Passenger. I'm very aware that I'm (very) late to the party on this one, it came out in August after all, but I did want to discuss it at some point. Going back to my review of Passenger's seventh studio album 'Young As The Morning, Old As The Sea', I can easily see that it's not a great review. After all, I didn't really criticise, and yet ended up rating the album abnormally high. The album is only decent at best, with the brighter, more reflective moments being the most revealing and the most interesting. A very light 3 / 5 at best, if that, certainly not the 4 / 5 I gave it at the time. I was planning on covering his follow up album 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' when it was released a year later, but on account of it not being interesting whatsoever, I decided to pass on that one.

But, a few listens through 'Runaway' convinced me that it was going to be worth covering, mainly because, for the most part, it's a return to form for Passenger. After two releases that have lacked a lot of meat or anything worth caring about, the introduction of a brighter instrumental pallet, more developed mature song writing, and a performer capable of selling all of it with considerable ease makes for an album that's pretty damn good. And the interesting thing is if you popified the production and writing a bit and gave the album to someone like George Ezra, whose career is built on these kind of songs, some of these songs could be considerable hits.


So, how did we get here? The change in production style is a huge part of all of this. 'Young As The Morning, Old Of The Sea' had the unfortunate tendency to default to much drier, uninteresting tones, or unspectacular arrangements. And while 'Why Can't I Change' could easily fit into this category, more often than we get brighter instrumentals that are just a lot more interesting. 'Ghost Town' and 'To Be Free' might be exceptions to this rule, but both of those songs work in their own subtle way. 'Eagle Bear Buffalo', 'Runaway' and especially 'Let's Go' have a enough unique texture that they work just fine as catchy songs. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have 'Ghost Town' with the more brittle, frail approach in the production that I like a fair bit, and Passenger underplaying in his vocals has always been great, he sounds really good on this album.


Speaking of underplaying, the track 'To Be Free' is the slow piano ballad on this album, and it sounds amazing, and the intense storytelling you get in the lyrics has always been one of Passenger's strengths. But how does the song writing hold up across the rest of the album? It's a bit of a mixed bag. Take 'Why Can't I Change' as a good example of why I don't think the writing entirely works, or is at the very least inconsistent. On the song, Passenger is clearly looking for some form of sympathy for finding it hard to change (and potentially adapt to a changing musical climate that is leaving him behind), but why is it a bad thing that he's not changed? It just seems like a really odd reason why someone would want sympathy.


'He Leaves You Cold' is another example. The way that Passenger is trying to make choices for this girl in who she wants to be with strikes me as a bit presumptive and unkind, even if he tries to use the girl's actions around the other guy to justify his case.


Then you get songs like the non descript, but certainly decent to good songs like 'Let's Go',  'Eagle Bear Buffalo' and 'Runaway' which are all Passenger in a very comfortable lane. But they are nothing in comparison to the best songs here: 'Hell Or High Water' and 'To Be Free'. The latter is Passenger reflecting on the chaos of a breakup and wondering whether it was simply fate taking its course, or if they could have somehow prevented it and spared themselves the pain. 'To Be Free' meanwhile is about Passenger's farther, originally from Vineland, New Jersey, and his journey that ends with him meeting his mother in nineteen-eighty-one. A touching story that grows all the more personal when the perspective is shifted in the song's dying moments and Passenger begins singing about himself instead of his farther. A great moment.


This and the closing track 'Survivors' are great moments of well framed reflection, with the closing track showing Passenger seeing everyone around him in a constant state of panic, and wondering if there is anyone else who is content with life, like he is.


But overall, I don't think Passenger will ever top 'Wicked Man's Rest' or 'All The Little Lights', but this is most certainly a return to form and I can certainly respect that. More of this please Mike. We need more song writers like you.


3.5 / 5


Best Songs: 'Hell Or High Water', 'To Be Free', 'Survivors', 'Eagle, Bear Buffalo'


Worst Songs: 'Why Can't I Change', 'He Leaves You Cold'

Review of: 'Forever Neverland' by MØ

I was looking forward to this one a fair bit. In fact, ever since she had her hit 'Final Song' I was looking forward to a new album from MØ. The only thing that I was disappointed going in to this this album was the fact that 'Final Song' was not on it. Bit of a shame, but the single was quite old, and potentially represented MØ's desire to recreate her image into something that may not be as accessible, but might be more refined and experimental. So, what did we get on 'Forever Neverland'

We got a killer slice of electrifying synthpop. In short, MØ's 'Forever Neverland' is a razor sharp, yet endlessly melodic pop album that may be occasionally thematically muddled and all over the place, but kind of works regardless. After all, 'Forever Neverland' is an album about, precisely that: youth, so it kind of makes sense that it would not be as thematically refined as say, With Confidence's 'Love And Loathing' that I covered in August, an album rooted in truth and honest feelings. 'Forever Neverland' however is anchored in youthful exuberance and a reflection on better times. It is easy to see as a bit cliché on the surface, but the personal details that MØ provides over the course of the album, particularly on songs like 'Nostalgia' allow this album to land with considerably more punch than might initially meet the eye.

And to begin exploring more precisely why this is, we need to talk about MØ's vocals across the album. It may be easy to place her among the ever growing list of female pop stars looking to imitate Lorde's vocal style, but, even if you do place her on that list, which I personally think might be a bit unfair, she is top tier. She has plenty of distinct presence that you could easily pick her out of a line-up of female pop stars courtesy of her more restraint delivery. She also tends to have more interesting vocal production than a lot of other pop stars like the murky multitracked vocals on 'Blur' and 'Beautiful Wreck' that took a lot of time to fully grow on me, but these are great moments on the album.

Something else that sounds great on this album is the meticulous and superbly handled production. The hook on 'Way Down' has a tonne of subtle momentum, as well as being one of the more accessible hooks on the album with how damn catchy that main groove is. That subtle intensity might as well be this album's trademark quality. It comes up again with the build up into the rickety synth drop on 'I Want You' that sounds so good against MØ at her most expressive vocally. The acoustic guitar on 'Blur' does sound a bit out of place against that vocal production, and the honking synth tone used on the drop does lack dimension and does not sound to far removed from something Marshmallow or The Chainsmokers might use, but it still sounds fine.

And that word 'fine' essentially describes the production on this album at it's worse. 'If It's Over' is the most blatant example with easily the most grading synth tone on the entire album. Furthermore, the vocal production that Charlie XCX gets on the bridge is also grading, and clashes with not only the production on that song, but all throughout the album.


But, for every moment I don't like as much on this album, there are so many that amazes me. Diplo's production on 'Sun In Our Eyes' is nothing short of stunning. His chill, layback style is a perfect match MØ's performance and writing on that track: undoubtedly one of the best songs here, and one of the best pop songs of the year.


But now we need to get onto talking about the song writing, where MØ and her team of collaborators crafted a layered, thematically detailed, project with huge amounts of unique personality. And, make no mistake, this is easily enough to elevate this album into greatness, and to see the album have so little commercial success despite it having such a wide appeal is so frustrating. This album may be upbeat and happy a lot of the time like on 'I Want You', but it's also reflective on a youth well spent. I love how conversational a song like 'Nostalgia' feels with MØ painting a straightforward picture of the first time she was in love and packing it with the kind of unique, precise, personal detail that I love. 'I Want You' might play in much simpler territory in terms of exploring a first love, but the way the lyrics imply MØ's determination to just charge forward with her passion for this guy is an amazingly teenage sentiment that fits into the album superbly.


But there are also break up songs amongst the track list. 'Mercy' is the first big one, with MØ acknowledging she could have done better in the relationship, but is begging with her boyfriend to keep her. Is it melodramatic? Yes. But in a way similar to that of another pop album: Lorde's 'Melodrama'. This album worked by delving head first into the chaos and melodrama and using that to represent elements of the teenage mind. The same thing is going on here. The line 'I thought no matter what I did you'd stay with me' stands out particularly as it highlights how the teenage mind has a tendency to over fantasise and not often acknowledge that their actions may have consequences. MØ's failure to understand that the worst could happen and this guy could in fact leave her whenever he chooses, regardless of whether she likes it or not, has a lot of impact, being a teenager myself.


'If It's Over' is another one that fits into this category, but this time MØ and Charlie XCX seems a lot more understanding of their partner's decision. They just want to get over the guy in question and not bury themselves in the sadness of the situation. But the more vulnerable tracks on the album like the interlude 'West Hollywood' reveals someone who just want to get away from the chaos of life. This might be the most relatable sentiment on the entire album.


It's further expanded on songs like 'Red Wine', a song about alcohol with the subtext established all across the album hinting at how alcohol can be seen as a whole new world of exploration by the teenage mind, but, as you grow older, you begin to lose that, and alcohol becomes just another thing. The specific details like this one that are littered throughout the album are amazing.


'Imaginary Friend' is a tad broader in its exploration of the teenage imagination, but given what MØ goes through on this album, it's no surprise she feels the desire to retreat back into her imagination for a moment. But the teenage melodrama takes a gorgeous turn on the next track. School is an environment where students are under pressure to perform. This combined with social anxiety, depression (a theme that was established earlier on the album on 'Blur') and anything else that could be making life difficult for teenagers can sometimes get too much. This is part of the reason why I think 'Trying To Be Good' is one of the best songs on this album. Taking the stress of life in general and seeing MØ throw it all behind her in a reckless attempt to escape it all in that glorious hook ('And I'm sick of, sick of trying / So sick of, sick of trying to be good') sounds amazing, I love the song.


But then you get the closing track 'Purple Like The Summer Rain'. Will MØ finally come to terms with the ultimate impossibility of eternal youth, or will she try to keep living like a teen forever? While it's never explicit what MØ's intentions are coming out of this album, but it is certainly clever in the way it ends. Near the end of the track, MØ breaks into a monologue (To be a child again / To not have to worry / About the responsibilities of adulthood) all about how she would value eternal youth before repeating the line 'So what is a girl to do?' at the end of the track. Again, it's melodramatic, but it knows it, and it owns it. The song then ends abruptly with a click, as if someone is turning a light off. A clever way of showing MØ come to the realisation that no, you can't go on living like the way she does all across this album. Undoubtedly the only way an album like this could end.


I needed this album. A glorious mess of teenage melodrama combined with tonnes of honest details, incredibly sharp pop production and wonderfully unique vocals. I can see this album doing it's job and connecting with the teenage audience it is looking for brilliantly. And that's the great thing: it can be layered, detailed, fascinating, and appeal to a target demographic without feeling pandering or overblown at any point. In other words, the kind of pop album Jess Glynne and her collaborators should be taking notes to. I was looking forward to a good pop album from MØ, but I was not ready for this level of thematic cohesion, detail and honesty. An amazing album that it pains me to see perform so badly commercially. I hope MØ gets another chance at mainstream crossover. Coming out of this album, she deserves it.


4 / 5


Best Songs: 'I Want You', 'Sun In Our Eyes', 'Nostalgia', 'Red Wine', 'Imaginary Friend', 'Trying To Be Good'


Worst Songs: 'If It's Over'