darren hayes - secret codes and battleships (5/10)
darren is back. well, actually he was never really gone, people just stopped caring after he released a non-commercial album in 2004, consequently got dropped by his record label and last blessed the world with a self-released and self-indulgent double album in 2007. for his ‘comeback’ darren went back to his easy listening romantic pop (savage garden) roots and tries very hard to recreate the magic. the result is surprisingly solid (though rather generic) songwriting, but the dull and sometimes downright ridiculous lyrics and a production that is mediocre at best ensure that this album will not be a worldwide chart-topper and his days signed to his new record label are most likely numbered.
stand out tracks: ‘black out the sun’, ‘taken by the sea’, ‘nearly love’, ‘the sirens call’
stand out lyrics: ‘you hit me like a subway train’, ‘coz i am an island, you are the ocean’, ‘every time we kiss is like god walking into the room’, ‘i was better lost before i was found, ive got a history of misery, so baby listen to me, put me back on the shelf, and give this pain to somebody else, yeah…’
