PASSENGER -Wicked Man's Rest [2009]

UK, Brighton’s Passenger Brighton’s are contagious!

Wicked Man’s Rest, the title track, is the first introduction to Passenger’s sound. If I had to categorize them, I guess I would say pop/alternative but those words feel so limiting. They encompass both genres but are defined by neither. At first listen, the songs seem to be relatively straightforward. But the more I listened to the album, the more complex and layered their sound becomes. “Do What You Like” has a frantic, aggressively up-tempo acoustic guitar. “Night Vision Binoculars” is incredibly sunny and almost simplistically upbeat. You think, “Oh, I’ve heard songs like this before”. But then you hear the hilariously creepy lyrics about a man essentially stalking his coworker. Almost all their songs have some sort of unexpected twist: either between the lyrics and the sound or in the sound itself. It is mildly inconsistent but overall a pretty amazing and attractive first attempt for Passenger.

Give them a shot if you are in the mood for some interesting, thoughtful pop/alt music. A Contagiously enjoyable album, Too bad they haven't gotten any success here in North America!

Genre: Indie, Alternative Pop, British. GREAT!
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Tracklisting:
01. Wicked Man’s Rest
02. Night Vision Binocular
03. Things You’ve Never Done
04. Girl I Once Knew
05. Do What You Like
06. Needle In the Dark
07. Four Horses
08. You’re On My Mind
09. For You
10. Walk In the Rain
11. Table for One

Video: Passenger -Table for One