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Brandon Hans
Time to Relax
Dreamscapes Music Productions, 2004
by Dr. Christian Carey Singer-songwriter Brandon Hans performs solo, accompanying his singing alternately with guitar and piano, in this recording of a live gig at the Cool Beans Coffeehouse in New Jersey. Hans marshals a suave baritone through a bunch of contemporary pop originals, channeling Billy Vera and Billy Joel in equal measure. Songs like "Time" and "My Love for You is Always" demonstrate considerably tasteful chord progressions and a flair for ballad-writing, while Hans manages a nice imitation of Mose Allison's cocktail jazz shuffles on "What does my Heart Beat for?" The title track says it all - this is relaxing, lounge-inspired fare. Occasional glimmers of something more ambitious indicate that this is just one of the musical personae in Hans's arsenal, and I bet that it is made to order for a Cool Beans gig. It'll be interesting to hear which direction his future material heads toward, middle-of-the-road pop or the jazz cabaret being natural next steps.
-January 26, 2005