Artist: Never Shout Never
Album: What is Love?
Genre: Folk/Pop
Label: Loveway/Sire/Warner Bros.

I feel like I have been writing about Christofer Drew since I started UTG. The now 18 year old singer/songwriter has been making his way up the national popularity scale since about the inception of this site and along the way we’ve watched him grow exponentially as an artist. From what began with a boy and a guitar, to the [at times] overly juvenile work on demo-shmemo and The Yippee EP has flourished into a full on folk/pop experience on What is Love. Yes, on his first true label release, Christofer Drew attempts to harness the simplicity and depth of iconic bands like The Beatles while still tailoring his sound to the modern age teenager. It’s an exercise in trial and error that I think is bound to raise a few eyebrows.

Starting off with the instantly engaging “Love is Our Weapon,” we find a fully evolved backing band for Drew as it’s the music that initially attracts one to the song. The writing, yet another reference to love and his parents, starts and continues to be weak throughout the verse, but it’s the hook and bridge that really pulls us into the album. There’s this youthful 1965-era bop to the beat that no one can physically deny met with easy to sing lyrics that let you know Drew has just started to parade his talents on this release. “Jane Doe,” the first true song we meet, has been floating around the internet in demo form for months and not much has changed since then. Some light accordion accompaniment does add an interesting flare to the track and eventually is the crutch that the bridge, which takes heavily from the sonic feel of “Eleanor Rigby,” leans on. It’s engaging, but fading.

For those of you wondering the purpose of the parental advisory sticker on this gushing puppy love filled album then look no further than “Can’t Stand It” which pulls [once again] from the folk pop of the late 60’s with some peppery language to give it a new age flare. The song itself is pretty forgettable to me, but I can see it making knees weak in the 12-19 female age range and really, that’s whose buying the record.

For those of us who don’t have to come to terms with our changing bodies, there’s still something to take away from this album. “Sacrilegious” finds Drew working hard on his storytelling, but with some seriously rewarding results as Drew debates morals and the ideas behind religion. This is the kind of track we all knew he was capable of, but given his young fan base, never expected to see. You have to work with your audience before you can challenge them. Think not? Look at “I Love You 5” and talk to me again. Drew, though sonically very pleasing, seems to barely use any effort to navigate this track [as well the equally hit-and-miss “California”] and really takes the easy way out. Luckily, before the album ends, we’re given the genius single “What is Love” that seems to always grab people’s attention [which Drew should take as a sign to mature as a lyricist because these are amazingly strong] before reaching the close of the record on the passionate, yet weak “The Past.”

In five years, when Christofer Drew has taken the route of Chris Carabba and picked up an ever-changing lineup of backing musicians who work tirelessly to create gigantic sounding love songs we’ll all look back on What is Love? and laugh. This record is a testament to growth and experimentation as a songwriter and it reflects that strongly with its blend of older style pop and modern lyricism/wit. Over the course of 8 tracks we find NSN displaying imaginative takes on classic song structures while having an unseen battle of direction between gushing love songs that tailor to his built-in fans and the well crafted tales of life and love he’s begun to produce. What is Love? is a fork in the road for Christofer Drew and only he can decide where to go from here. Personally, I think it’s his newfound skills in storytelling that will really give his career legs, but I can understand taking the easy road and keeping the girls squealing. Either way, something big is happening in music in 2010 and it’s called Never Shout Never.

Score: 7/10
Written by: James Shotwell

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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