What to do with another floppy-haired singer/songwriter who writes sleepy pop songs about girls that won't return his phone calls? The world seems positively riddled with them so it becomes quite hard to differentiate between one and the other. The only things that set the young man known as Kalli apart from the pack is the appealing sound of his throaty singing voice and the fact that he hails from Iceland. Other than that, this disc could just as well be a self-released effort by a self-assured gentleman from Lawrence, Kansas. To be fair, Kalli does a fine job of wrapping some of his self-loathing lyrics in Jon Brion/Badly Drawn Boy-esque chamber pop ("It's Over") and is able to use a string section and a smattering of electronics to nice effect on the title track. Elsewhere, though, his plaintive guitar playing and vocal delivery come off as forced and in need of a well-tuned sonic overhaul.
~ Bob Ham
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