Lee DeWyze - Paranoia (2018) CD Rip

Lee DeWyze switches up his game on Paranoia, his fourth album since winning American Idol in 2010. Prior to Paranoia, DeWyze was mining a sensitive acoustic folk vein, and while he's still writing introspective tunes along those lines, the production on Paranoia is drenched in modern electronics -- the kind of digital moodiness that's commonplace in all genres in 2018. It's a canny commercial move for DeWyze, even if the overall effect can be kind of sludgy, particularly since the entire album marches to the same deliberate tempo and he chooses to mumble instead of belt out the songs. All of this means Paranoia can play like an album-long variation on a theme -- a move that can be a little bit dull -- but his dedication to his slow, murmuring aesthetic is, in a sense, impressive.

Tracklist:
01. Paranoia
02. Sink or Swim
03. Lonely Hearts
04. The Breakdown
05. Closer
06. Got It Right
07. Hear You Now
08. Empty House
09. Let Go
10. Carry Us Through