Stanley Brinks - Dank U
To understand what this album is about you first need to learn something about the man who now calls himself Stanley Brinks, he was previously known as André Herman Düne as well as plenty of other pseudonyms. Born in Paris and travelled around Europe and America which has helped create the extremely laid back music style and lyrics. We are left wondering where the hint of calypso style arrived but it is there.
Now based in Berlin and New York, singer songwriter, Stanley Brinks’ debut album “Dank U” sees Mr Brinks play the majority of the album by himself playing his acoustic guitar as he goes. The opening song is an autobiographical tale, aptly named “Stanley Brinks”.
By the second song “Idle Eyes” you start to realise that every song on the album is heading in the same direction even with some gentle background drums, slow, relaxed but very much the same as each other. Sure Stanley Brinks is good at playing his guitar and the lyrics are both intelligent and enjoyable to listen to but for a whole album it is just too much, or not enough!
There is one track mid way through the album that does buck the trend of being exactly the same as the other nine songs. The fifth song “My Experience With Truth” is not even a great song but it is so welcome as a change of pace and no sign of an acoustic guitar. The hint of calypso remains on this track as it does on all the tracks.
There is no doubt this album is going to appeal to plenty of people out there and maybe given the right situation and mood this reviewer would appreciate it more. It is not at the same level as someone like Jack Johnson but I am guessing that will be viewed as a good thing as it appears that Stanley Brinks is trying to keep the authentic one man travelling with a guitar feel to it.
If the songs were being reviewed individually they would probably get a higher mark but not as a full length album.