In The Ever

Mason Jennings wrote, performed, recorded, mixed, and produced most of 'In The Ever' himself. He's clearly short of friends — a situation this album is unlikely to change.

It's not the lo-fi DIY approach — the fact you can imagine him sitting in a stark little room with a bashed-up guitar and old tape recorder creates a more intimate, authentic mood. It's not even his fumbling around on the drums and harmonica — Bob Dylan showed that music could be more about self-expression than technical proficiency.

It's the songs. If you're going for the stark, exposed approach or if you play like a one-man band rolling down the stairs, your tunes had better hold up. Jennings' don't.

The melodies are ropey — 'I Love You And Buddha Too' is just one handclap away from a kiddies sing song; morose 'Something About Your Love' is performed with all the assurance of someone making it up on the spot; the half-spoken nursery rhyme 'Your New Man' is a joke without a punchline; maudlin 'My Perfect Lover' nods off along the road to nowhere; 'Memphis , Tennessee' is 45 years behind the times (they are a changin'); and, even at two minutes, 'Going Back To New Orleans' is far from finished.

The lyrics are pretentious but generic takes on lost love, heartache and, yes, lonelineless — "I was born to love you / You were born to resist" collides with the nursery rhyme music and lines like "All that's real / Is the love we made", "It's me and you now against this whole wide world… / Baby I can't sleep at all until I see you again", and "You've got the love / That I need / That I'm dreaming of".

Only the Tom Petty Americana of 'Fighter Girl', strident Pearl Jam-flavoured country rocker 'Soldier Boy' and (at a stretch) the sadly simple 'Never Knew Your Name' are good enough to win friends and influence people.