A Shout Over Whispers... Or, New York Times Music Critic Jon Caramanica Is An Ass Hat

Passenger "Whispers" NEW & SEALED vinyl LP record
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Those unfamiliar with Passenger (aka Michael Rosenberg, post 2009) might at first check the setting on their turntable to be sure the LP isn't playing at 45 RPM. Rest assured, though it's only slightly off putting, his voice really does sound a little leprechaun like, but that's fine; get past that and you'll find the craftsmanship of his compositions entirely endearing on Whispers, Passenger's 6th studio album, and fifth as a solo artist. 

Historically, when a founding band member goes solo using his previous band's name, you can expect a number of disappointments, ranging from haphazardness to jarring disparity in continuity. Some would hold that 2007's Wicked Man's Rest was the sole effort released by Passenger as a proper band, and those same would likely discount everything Rosenberg released independent of his former partner Andrew Phillips as "not quite".  The reality of the matter, however, is that Rosenberg continues to mature with each subsequent effort, and the Passenger moniker he continues to carry with him as a solo artist casts no shadow of shame whatsoever on his illustrious early work with Phillips. 

Unfortunately though, Whispers hasn't received the same positive critical support as Wicked Man's Rest did, having been called by one New York Times misguided (and, in my opinion, consistently mentally retarded) critic Jon Caramanica: "limited in its arsenal".  Caramanica goes on to fucking stupidly boldy

state that Rosenberg's writing comes off like, quote "a teenager's scribbled poems", and suggests that Rosenberg's criticism of the popular appeal of Twitter and other social media platforms is ironic, considering the role they played in growing Passenger's success early on. Now, whether or not Caramanica has any familiarity with the "scribblings" of teenagers is in question, alongside just what sort of teenagers he knows?  Teenagers most of us know could never pen, with any experienced intelligence, songs like "27", an upbeat, but at the same time deeply pondering, comparison of personal and social expectations ("The only thing I get told is I got to sell out if I wanna get sold..." and "I write songs that come from the heart, and I don't give a fuck if they chart or not...").  Sure, your average teenager could express the same level of frustration, fuck-all and angst, but what's missing is the qualification, the worldliness.. as in where Rosenberg states in the middle eight: "27 years done, written 600 songs only 12 get sung; 87,000 cigarettes have passed through these lungs, and every single day I wish I'd never smoked one; a week brushing my teeth, a week getting my hair cut, 8 years sleeping and I'm still tired when I wake up..." Your average teenager doesn't have the wherewithal or maturity to make these observations (not to mention your average teenager doesn't clearly state that he's 27). And while it's true social media played an enormous role in catapulting Passenger's success, that doesn't mean the artist has to love it and all it represents. It can be explained in the same way that even though your job pays your bills, you still hate going there every day.  So with this in mind, when New York Times critic Jon Caramanica tries to raise a brow at Rosenberg's criticism of people "slowly dying in front of fucking computers", it doesn't mean they didn't do anything for his career... for you, reader: doesn't the corporate cube farm that you spend 9 hours a day decomposing in pay for your vacation time, your home, your material possessions? See, it's not the ends, it's the sorrow in the means to them. How can a respected music critic be so obtuse? 

Why Whispers hasn't been critically acclaimed is baffling, really. The album runs in the same Irish folk vein as Mumford & Sons, though with a bit more Caribbean flavor here and there - but where Mumford's songs are arguably more or less just a bunch or rhyming words, and their appeal is more about form than content, Passenger meets - and maybe even exceeds - that same now popular form, but with songs that happen to include meaningful, well wrought lyrical refrains as well.  The only real criticism of this album is the occasional over-emphasized message in some of the tracks ("Hearts on Fire" and "Scare Away The Dark"), but all in all, Passenger's whispers here are very much worth listening to.