Caught in the Carousel

Dylan Connor

Breakaway Republic
Almost Green Album
Independent

Dylan Connor

It's shocking how different Dylan Connor's sophomore release Breakaway Republic is compared to his cover of Weezer's Green album on the aptly-named Almost Green Album. While the former falls flat, the latter stands as an album of brilliantly-crafted covers. Breakaway Republic is an odd mix of unoriginal soft-rock with a little country thrown in. It's unfortunate Connor doesn't run with the country-rock sound throughout the album, because that's where his strength lies. Songs such as the acoustic "Had A Little Dream" and the driving "Blood Like Fire," which sounds like it belongs on a Quentin Tarantino movie soundtrack, are among the few that stand out. The surprisingly catchy "Breakaway and Burn" highlights his quite pleasing voice, which could be put to better use than on this album. Beyond that, you have the lyrically-challenged "Silver Flood," with lines like, "Silver flood/ do do do do do/Out Sunday shopping for his shoes." Songs such as "Stunning Insights" and "Don't Let Me Wash Away" are too bland and empty to make much of an impression. The cringe-inducing "What's New" overdoes it on rhyming, featuring lines like: "Rusty chain/Oil change/ Take the late train." He goes for a harder, grittier sound unsuccessfully on "Come Swim," but sadly it doesn't fit with his vocal style.

In contrast to Connor's second album, the Almost Green Album is unexpectedly amazing. As a cover album it needs to pay tribute to the original, while adding something fresh that gives the listener a new perspective on the material therein. Connor's acoustic versions add an emotional layer to the songs not always visible in the original. The stripped-down versions of "Smile" and "Simple Pages" highlight the romanticism in the lyrics, while his version of the heartbreaking "Oh Girlfriend" is beautiful in its simplicity. Elsewhere, Connor's take on "Hash Pipe" is strikingly different from the original; the contrast between the lyrics, his soft vocals, and his acoustic guitar really make for an intriguing version. Other highlights include the distorted "Glorious Children" (Weezer's "Glorious Day") and the upbeat "Crab." His one misstep is on "Island in the Sun," which is a poor copy of the Weezer original. The evidence suggests that Connor is much better at interpreting other musicians' song than writing his own. Based on the talent shown in his arrangements of Weezer's work, he deserves another chance. Wait for the next album.

—Jessica Simons