JAY BRANNAN: ROB ME BLIND

GENRE | QUAD ACOUSTIC
VERDICT | TOO MUCH BUSCH
LABEL | GREAT DEPRESSION RECORDS
RELEASE | 3.27.12
JAYBRANNAN.COM

Ain’t nothin’ wrong with a man and a guitar. History remembers the good ones, and if you paint some-thing on your axe about killing fascists and the like, chances are you’re doing it right. But for every one of those heroes, there’s a dozen groan-inducing, “sensitive-guy” strummers with cookie-cutter quality tunes, give or take some self-absorbing vocab.

Rob Me Blind, as you can gather, is not about fascists. Previously starring in the sexually-charged 2006 dramedy Shortbus, Jay Brannan’s tunes are, at best, nothing you haven’t heard before. At worst, the simple acoustics are borderline elementary in song construction and lyricism, specifically taking a nosedive on “La La La” and “A Love Story.”

Producer David Kahne keeps things sparse, but listeners should be hard-pressed to believe that “Rob Me Blind” couldn’t be reproduced with Garageband and a decent mic. In the world of the acoustic singer/songwriter, standing out is not only a good idea, but also downright necessary.

They say anyone can play guitar, so when an artist doesn’t hit any creative marks, I’ll refuse to hit the play button.

JAY BRANNAN

WED 7.18.12
BRIGHTON MUSIC HALL
158 BRIGHTON AVE.
ALLSTON
617.779.0140
@BRIGHTON_MUSIC
BRIGHTONMUSICHALL.COM