Search - Don Lennon :: Downtown

No one can take his dream away

Jonathan J. Casey | the twin cities | 04/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don Lennon is pure genius. Combining the acidic derision of Robyn Hitchcock with the obsessive innocence of Wesley Willis, Don Lennon has graced us with a hilarious half-hour of musings on pop music, cultural artifacts, underground scenes, and, uh...Dave Matthews. With Dana Colley from Morphine standing in for DMB's Leroi Moore on sax, Don sings from various perspectives: Dave himself, a huge fan at a DMB show, and a college guy pretending to like the band to impress a girl. Truly inspired stuff. "Matthews Comes Alive" could easily become a hit radio novelty, which would be both a joy and a shame to behold. "John Cale" meanwhile, is a faux melancholy tale of Don's dream about becoming John Cale, learning Welsh, and drinking himself to death. Hold on to your dreams, Don. Crafting his songs around simple pop structures, Don Lennon comes off like a cross between Morrissey and Stephin Merritt with his dry delivery and snappy tunes. A fun-filled romp through the pop undergrowth, with a hearty dash of bitters. Fans of "I was dancing in a lesbian bar" should be terribly pleased."

If you like indiepop and have a sense of humor

aloverofgreysilentdays | boston, ma | 06/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this album - as well as Don's first two self-released affairs. If you like the sound of the Smiths or Belle and Sebastian - and enjoy clever, humorous lyrics, you'll love this album. there are two songs devoted to Dave Matthews - the second is the type of song you have to play over and over becase it is so damn funny...sample lyric, "Dave Mattthews Band comes alive/ At the Earth Day festival, at a concert in Brazil/ Dave Matthew's Band comes alive on a talk show in New York, or a Chili's Bar & Grill" - there's also an ode to Lenny Kravitz which is similarly dripping in sarcasm, and a rather beautiful track dedicated to the brilliant John Cale. I highly recomend this album - catchy songs, sharp, funny lyrics - Don is the best Lennon to put out an album since John."

Sheer triumph

Latham Green | kc | 10/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The songs about Dave Matthews make me smile, I cant help it. My face just forms a smile. These songs are so great, I just wish everyone had to listen to this CD. Play this Cd for the people of Iraq and they would agree that the USA is good. I like the way Don addresses today's relevant social issues with a poison yet sweet pen."