Lee Spoken is one of those artists you can't decide if you like or not upon first listen. Strictly a DIY project, with the exception of some guitars and trumpet, Drawn In is designed to showcase Darcy Bennett's vocal abilities, which distinguish themselves in a variety of ways.
"Caving Me In" takes the minimalist modern rock guitar sound, which lulls you into a sense of "I've heard this before". Then the chorus kicks in with a U2-like wall of sound that renders it immediately catchy. "Rest Well" features some good harmony, reminiscent of the days when The Police would use Sting to back up himself with overdubbing.
"Smile," on the other hand, shows Bennett lapsing into Crash Test Dummies territory, with odd, discordant timing and up and down vocals that create a disturbing effect. The title track veers into Newsboys range, while both tunes use the annoying computer-enhanced studio tricks that Cher made unfortunately famous.
"Flower's Bloom," about the denial of Christ in everyday living, would be my pick of the litter. "Crash" is, for lack of a better term, almost a heavy metal ballad stylistically. Another track sure to draw attention will be "K-9," a hip hop/nu metal tune that sums up the entire life of a dog in about 90 seconds.
Lee Spoken is all over the map, and hard to classify for those who would look for a genre in which to put them. My best guess is that different tracks here would appeal to different audiences, which makes me wonder if Bennett hasn't studied the CCM approach to marketing.
2.5 tocks
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