Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

While I normally don’t like to play the “sounds like” game, the similarities between Dave Patten and John Mayer are just too hard to ignore. But something about Patten strikes me as odd. It was difficult for me to pinpoint, but I think I figured it out. It seems as though he is trying too hard to make his voice unique. He tries to force the words, so much so that it can make the listener tense up at points. He is a solid baritone, but he sometimes tries too hard to sing in falsetto. I originally thought this would be a relaxing record (especially after I immediately made the Mayer comparison), but at times I found it outright uncomfortable.

One of the most interesting aspects of Patten’s music is that he plays what is called “organic rock.” This means that the band uses no artificial sounds -- just guitars, a piano, drums... even gourds!

Fly Away is the singer/songwriter’s second album. He debuted in 2006 with Too Close, Too Far. That disc contains much of the same type of music. A big thing I realized is that Patten doesn’t seem to have grown much from his debut. I have a big problem with that. Music is about always getting better, but in this case it's just... the same.

Another big problem with this record is that a lot of the songs sound the same. It’s a monotonous listen and I got bored about halfway through. Most of the songs are about relationships. A prime example of this is the title track, which is obviously a breakup song. I read reviews boasting about the diversity of this record, but I didn’t see any of that. The songs basically range from stories about breakups to stories about staying together forever (Everyday) to songs about wanting her back (Got What it Takes).

In a nutshell, Dave Patten is average. Fly Away is listenable, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re looking for originality.