When it comes to album releases, Passenger (Mike Rosenberg) is one of the more prolific artists. For his 2021 release, he brings forth a break-up collection – the aptly named Songs for the Drunk and Broken Hearted. The break-up album is something that many artists seem to feel the need to do. Will the wistful musings of the Brighton folk singer resonate and bring comfort to those going through one of the many difficult break-ups this pandemic has brought?
Passenger himself is among those break-up statistics. Rather than deciding to write about his own feelings, he chose to channel his experiences through a collection of depressingly drawn characters. If you are looking for an album packed full of hope, look away.
Songs for the Drunk and Broken Hearted opens with ‘Sword from the Stone’, an upbeat ditty about struggling to move on from a relationship and enquiring about how his ex’s family are doing. His inability to “pull the sword from the stone” acts as a metaphor for being unable to move on. The gentle piano and guitar backing provide the simple sound for the track and for the entire record. It is classic Passenger.
‘Tip of My Tongue’ and ‘What You’re Waiting For’ maintain the upbeat ambience of the opener despite the subject matter. The problem is, the two songs bleed into each other. This is a recurring issue with the album both on the more cheerful sounding tunes and the melancholic ballads. Passenger has built a following around his reedy vocals and beautifully observed reflections but here, on his 13th studio album, is it starting to sound a bit repetitive.
That isn’t to say there aren’t high points. The 70’s sounding ‘Remember to Forget’ is the stand-out song on the album, with sparkling guitars reminiscent of ‘The Joker’ by the Steve Miller Band. Similarly, ‘Nothing Aches Like a Broken Heart’, with its Billy Joel-esque twinkling piano and slide guitars, lifts the album and the spirits. Both tracks feel like they would be at home in a dusty American bar-room. It is a style that suits Passenger and hopefully will be explored further on future albums.
The remainder of Songs for the Drunk and Broken Hearted is standard Passenger fare. Gentle finger-picked guitar and piano underpin broken-hearted reflections. The most cinematic track is the five-minute opus that is ‘Sandstorm’. Using sandstorms as a metaphor for mental turmoil, it is about the character imploring his lover to leave him, sung above a soaring mariachi backing.
The album closes with ‘London in the Spring’, the gentlest of ballads. The song is a nostalgic musing on how we “forget how to enjoy the simple things”. Although musically it offers nothing new, the lyrics are a perfect reminder that hope is not lost in these challenging times, “The best is far behind us / It’s hopeless to be hopeful any more / But I’m not sure I agree / I am hoping love will find us.”
For anyone trying to heal a broken-heart, Passenger offers no real answers. Like all Passenger albums, Songs for the Drunk and Broken Hearted lives in a beautiful sonic landscape. This one is filled with two-dimensional characters and cliches. The listening experience is pleasant and some tracks shine brightly, but this is a missed opportunity to bring something new to his own musical cannon.
Words by Andrew Butcher
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