ALBUM REVIEW: “All The Little Lights” by Passenger

August 28. 2012 | By Jamie Lynn

Passenger
All The Little Lights
[Nettwerk]

Michael Rosenberg, the artist behind Passenger, is a busker. And he is damn good at it. He funded his 2010 release of Flight of the Crow with his busking income, garnering 5-star reviews and comparisons to likes of David Gray and Nick Drake. “The busking pays for everything really,” Mike admits. “It’s crazy…because it is the dilemma for every musician – how do I put 100% of myself into my music whilst keeping myself together? [Busking] you’re making money, you can play your songs, and hopefully further your fanbase – it’s ideal really….I’ll always feel very, very lucky about that.”

Lucky for us, All The Little Lights has lyrics that are in turn insightful, wry, and funny — set to melodies that remain in your head for ages after you have finished listening to it. The first single is the perfect example of this. “Let Her Go” has such a sweet simple melody that frames bittersweet reminiscing. “Staring At The Stars” makes us laugh out loud, referencing tobacco, porn, and baby daddies amongst the chipper guitar strumming. Mike’s voice is a distinctive rasp; sometimes crooning, other times vibrating with intensity of the emotions. The vocals and the guitars are seemingly flawlessly integrated to tell stories. We say to Mike: keep on busking, mate. We want more of this.

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