Dorman: When I Come to You - Page 2

Dorman is particularly adept at crystallizing moments in song. "A Last Night," focuses in on the final moments of a relationship that a lover has to will himself to destroy; "Wrecking Ball," uses the destruction of a house as a springboard to examine a life; the previously mentioned "Won't You Mercy Me," expands on a moment of forgiveness. Probably the most poignant moment on the album is in "When the Day is Done," written in the aftermath of 9/11. In the song, Dorman takes cab to a church to pray and the cabbie talks about his son named Mohammed, who "has a nametag he's afraid to put on." The specific moment illuminates the chaos of the day. It's a neat trick. It's not all pop perfection. Dorman, who has a literary bent (he's got an MFA from Columbia) can get a little too clever for his own good. In "Minotaur" he packs in more mythic references than the song can comfortably contain; Dorman himself cops a plea to overdoing it (but then doesn't bother to stop). By and large, however, When I Come to You hits what it wants to hit.

Now we get to see whether Dorman and his crew (Sean Dolan on drums, Thane Sheetz on bass, and Elise Kuder on violin — which plays the part normally handled by electric guitar rather effectively) can exercise free will and swing the fame thing to go with the talent. That's going to be the tough part; notwithstanding that dreamtime conversation with God, the problem with making great Neil Finn - Peter Case pop confections is that the kids aren't exactly screaming for the next Neil Finn or Peter Case CD. Stupid kids.

(For more reviews of independent music, visit www.indiecrit.com).

Article Author: John Scalzi

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