Send "Darren Hanlon " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 If you're a fan of painstaking songcraft, there's a good chance you've brushed across Darren Hanlon's name before. The avuncular Australian came up in the 1990s as a member of the Simpletons and played on a bunch of recordings by much-loved countrymen the Lucksmiths. In the course of releasing three fine solo albums over the past decade, Hanlon has toured with Billy Bragg, the Magnetic Fields, and Jeffrey Lewis. With enough wry charm and vivid detail to withstand such comparisons, Hanlon's unassuming brand of indie-pop digs up the mundane or eccentric and scrapes off the dirt until he hits on something universal. Until now, however, he's never enjoyed a proper U.S. promotional push.Each of Hanlon's albums has moments worth revisiting, but I Will Love You at All is his most consistently rewarding effort yet. Not only because, as befits the self-described "urban folk" singer's leap from Melbourne's now-defunct Candle Records to North Carolina-based Yep Roc, it's also his most American: Adam Selzer (M. Ward, She & Him, the Decemberists) recorded the album in Portland, so there's a familiarly Pacific Northwestern tint, not least in longtime Selzer collaborator Rachel Blumberg's meticulously understated drumming. What most sets Hanlon's fourth album apart from its predecessors, though, is that he's no longer singing about squash or the noisy punk-rock girl upstairs; when he shows off his tremendous wit, it's now in subtler and more lasting ways than proving he can shoehorn the word "aubergine" into a catchy song. This is a record of heartbreak, rendered richly enough that you might not notice it. It's also an immensely funny record, with enough real emotion behind it that you might not notice that, either. It doesn't hurt that there's a lot more variety between songs than you expect from your typical heart-on-sleeve troubadour-- or, hell, from most bands in this era of tinier and tinier niches. Ukulele, euphonium, and strings enliven "All These Things", an affecting call-and-response duet with Shelley Short about the trivia that comes to define us. "Scenes From a Separation" depicts beautifully just what its title says, but with keyboards, a waltzing-Matilda rhythm and more backing vocals from both Short and Alia Farah. Opener "Butterfly Bones", about someone who injures easily, sets viola, trumpet, and hammered percussion over syncopated acoustic chords; "Buy Me Presents" rattles like the Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner" amid bongos, saxophone, and sly observations about fear of commitment. Only grandiose piano ballad "What Can We Say?" feels like a relative misstep....full text |
| Sputnikmusic |
| When it comes to the surprisingly extensive discography of Queensland’s Darren Hanlon, some might call his consistency boring or unadventurous. This is a particularly unfair judgement of his body of work – one might suggest, instead, that a better descriptive term of his steady consistency between records would be reliable. Want some breezy, folksy pop music that doesn’t demand too much of you? Darren’s your man. Clever lyrics with a slew of wordplay and charming observational humour? Go see Darren. Fun, sweet-natured and enjoyable music for those upbeat moods sound good? Practically any of Hanlon’s albums will do the trick. Better yet, why not try his new album, I Will Love You At All? No, you’re not going to get any kind of dramatic departure here, but it’s hardly necessary when the music is already this consistently – and reliably – good. Across ten tracks and forty minutes, Hanlon does a thorough job in delivering a proper follow-up to 2006’s Fingertips and Mountaintops – excluding the B-sides and rarities collection that came out in-between then and now. If you’ve taken interest in any of his previous work, there’s essentially no reason why you wouldn’t find something to enjoy here. Everything that’s made Hanlon such a listenable performer in the past is not so much rehashed as reinforced. From the rough-around-the-edges bedroom production to the easily-memorised choruses, I Will Love You At All serves as a reminder of the man’s talents in his field of work. His arrangements are of the sweet-and-simple variety – though they occasionally flourish into a string quartet section, a sax solo or keyboard pattern, most everything circulates around Hanlon’s typically-Australian voice and either his trusty acoustic guitar or his ukulele. It will be perceived by some as a back-to-basics approach; but really, it comes across more as just the natural progression to suit this kind of music. In particular, Hanlon’s inimitable songwriting style delivers on some of his finest moments yet. “Scenes From A Separation”, for instance, is a perfect example of a defining factor when it comes to great songwriting: taking either an idea or situation one could class as overly-familiar and writing about it in a way you’d never thought about before. Over a standard waltz beat and perfect boy-girl harmonies, Hanlon documents a clean-cut breakup and reflects on the way his perspectives have changed on account of the relationship’s demise. Lines fly by with subtle devastation: “We were ‘together forever’/But then again, what the hell does that mean?/One person’s lifetime, the history of mankind or the year since I turned seventeen?” It’s exceptionally clever lyricism, particularly when he sums the entire affair up near the end - “I wouldn’t trade one heartbroken minute for one year of dull happiness.”...full text |
| Watchoutfor |
| Given that my last experience with Darren Hanlon was less than comfortable (the story goes that I accidentally went to see Darren HAYES under the impression that I was seeing Darren HANLON– please feel free to laugh at me via a message below), I was more than willing to give one of Australia’s finest and intuitive folk performers another go. I Will Love You At All is Darren Hanlon’s fourth album, and is considered by many to be the summation of a ‘couple of years of couch surfing, house sitting and soul searching across the world’. Intricate, witty and poignant wordplay once again form the crux of Darren’s work, with countless moments where you’ll find yourself in awe of how adept one can be with our native tongue (and accent). We begin with an unmistakably Hanlon groove on Butterfly Bones which you could legitimately believe was a Beastie Boys cover, such his lyrical dexterity. This is closely followed by a more nitty-gritty introspective folk purity of Modern History. Darren’s lyrical command not only involves his poignant everyday life observations and understanding of human emotion, but also his understanding of how words physically stream together. Just the act of listening to him sing is such a pleasure, and is most likely why he has such a strong and loyal fan base that rivals many other Australian artists. First single All These Things is a bright sprinkling of fun, made even better with Shelley Short’s delicate backing vocals. Hanlon explores painful memories of an old relationship in House. Using beautiful imagery we are taken on a journey as Darren recalls the mundance details of his former dwelling. If My Heart Was Made Of Stone is a refreshing shift from the heavy sentiments of its predecessor, gives you that familiar pleasure that is reserved for a dainty little songs. Darren’s witty lyrics are a feature on Folk Insomnia, as he discusses amongst other things, the hidden wisdom of not walking in front of cars or behind horses. However, album closer What Can We Say is a distinct example of Darren’s hauntingly soulful songwriting....full text |
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