At first glance, Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore’s Dear Companion is just another drop in the apparently bottomless barrel of earnestly performed, unambitious folk pop. Everyone’s heard, and probably owns, a few albums of its ilk: Well-performed, passionately delivered, mainly acoustic music with earnest lyrics that could have been recorded at any time during the last 40 years.
Upon further examination, though, it becomes clear that there’s more to the album. This is largely due to Sollee’s cello. Throughout the album, he quietly incorporates the deep tones of his instrument of choice into the usual folksy arrangements he and Moore craft, giving the album a faintly sinister undertone that elevates songs like the title track and “Try” above their familiar trappings.
Even Sollee’s cello playing can’t save the album as a whole from sounding a little too well-worn at times, though. Dear Companion is an amicable album and has a strong melodic sense, but it’s a companion through and through, instead of, say, a lover — familiar, comfortable and ever so slightly dull.
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