Search - Robin Mookerjee :: Heathen Town

This Brooklyn songwriter hasn't cheered up much since his first cd, "Miserablism," but his style and songcraft have come into focus. From the beginning of the cd, this is a feast of hooks with melodies and lyrics that will transport the listener to a bittersweet world. Where in "Miserablism" the focus was squarely on life's losses, in "Heathen Town" the singer's intimate voice promises to protect his lover from a scary, unreal world. In "The Last Round" a group of young people know the end of the world is coming, but decide to have their Friday night drink anyway. Powerpop gems like "Let Me Be Free," "All By Myself," and "Turn" take classic pop hooks and color them in with stories of - what else? - troubled love. Finally, the cd returns to Mookerjee's familiar brooding mood with the last four songs, ending in one of the most poetic suicide notes in recent pop memory. The album developed fairly quickly, beginning with the first track and "Rain Keeps Falling," which set the moody, misty, rainy sound that seemed to pervade the whole project. Mookerjee came up with the name "Heathen Town" before writing the title song, as it evoked the setting of the cd: a dark city whose people look for meaning and consolation. The final songs followed, uniformly catchy, and echoing the singer's influences. If you like Coldplay, listen to "Spies" and "Satellites." If you like The Smiths, try "Copper Bracelet." In spite of his clear influences in the alt-pop tradition, Mookerjee has an indie sound, jangly and dreamy, all his own, and an introspective personality you'll get to know with repeat listens. "Heathen Town" is an album you can spend some time with.