You may have noticed that despite my no.1 fave singer ever, Darren Hayes, having a new album on the way this summer, I haven’t exactly been going on about it like I normally would. I suppose I’ve just not been driven to excitement by any of the songs I’ve heard so far. Of course they are good songs and for the average pop fan this would be enough, but I expect more from Darren – he has the power to grab me, to move me with his music, and these songs just haven’t done that yet, or at least not to the extent which his music consistently has in the past. I want to love his new songs but I listen to them and as much as I do like them, they just don’t sound as special as songs like Pop!ular, Affirmation, To The Moon And Back – I could continue to list every single, album track and even b-side he’s done, each one having a special place in my heart.
These new songs are certainly good, better than almost everything else around… but only almost! Usually a new song by Darren would automatically be my favourite of the moment. They’re not quite outstanding, they don’t stand out to me as a new step forward for Darren, and they don’t show off his beautiful voice, which normally makes my heart swell with adoration. He has the ability to make those heart-stopping amazing pop moments, and he isn’t using it. Darren is normally above categorisation, he usually manages to do electro-pop and mumsy ballads without seeming like someone uncool trying to be cool, but now he is getting a bit ‘dad at the disco’ and it’s quite a shame – hopefully the songs will either grow on me or he’ll have his usual brilliance hidden away on the album.
I know Darren reads this blog sometimes, so I would tell him to put some ace tracks on the album, but I guess it’s probably too late to affect that now, so instead I’ll make do with ordering him to play some gigs in Sweden this autumn – I may be a bit disappointed with his new music, but I still don’t want to miss out on a Darren tour for the first time since his solo career began!