superego - dogends

Superego

Dogends
self-released; 2012

3.8 out of 5

Similar to artists like Nick Drake, Elliot Smith and Jeff Buckley, Brandon Rompa aka Superego creates pop songs that are smothered in confessional lyrics and rather sparse arrangements that don’t need more overproduction because the lead vocal demands attention from the listener. Reigning from Minneapolis, Rompa like many others was inspired by acts like the Beatles and Wilco. Luckily, Rompa had enough talent of his own to be inspired by what he was hearing to create his own vision.

His latest entitled Dogends contains folky, inspired pop songs that highlight his vocals center stage. The album was self-produced and has a number of songs that hit the bullseye in terms of songwriting. “Lost, Lost, Lost” is a lush arrangement that contains acoustic guitar, lightly played drums, some nice lead guitar and vocal harmonies that all fit together well. It is a relaxing song that could easily be playing while hanging out with your lady in the comfort of your own abode. Things are shaking up a bit with “Black Hole Blues” which is more of a knee slapping blues soul type number that starts off minimalistically with nothing more then some handclaps and vocals until the acoustic is introduced. There is some creative lead guitar as well on this one. Other songs are gorgeous ballads such as “I Feel Old” which feels like floating in cloud. The vocals have a filter on them this time and the guitars feel even lighter then on previous songs. The album concludes with “Kiss Me Again” which has hints of melancholy and rejoice and displays some of the best songwriting on the album. This is an impressive release with 10 songs that will be appreciated by anyone who enjoys listening to gifted songwriters.

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