3 out of 5

Label: self-released

Produced by: Dan P. (?)

I’ll take the easy layup: Dan P.’s album, That’s Pretty Good, is named so as to preclude my review.

But let’s give it some color anyway:

Trudging on in his recognizably earnest style over 30+ years of output and various projects – band and solo – Dan has way outlasted his ska punk youth to become a reliable troubadour of endlessly catchy and generally smart pop tunes, with some rock n’ roll along the way. That ‘generally’ isn’t meant to be a swipe: Dan has remained dedicated to pretty consistent output, and his hacked out a comfortable niche of a sound and topics that border on the familiar, but add some flair: a particular way of tweaking a harmony or extending a verse-chorus-verse structure uniquely, or when it comes to lyrics, finding an accessibly creative way to restate a recognizable feeling. Playing close to some tropes, it’s perhaps inevitable that he’ll swerve through those tropes sometimes, and a DIY-ness has also meant we get some stuff that’s kinda campfire feelgood stuff that’s not especially affecting past its catchiness. That all said, the amount of hits Potthast has crafted from these seemingly meager bits is incredibly impressive, and even when something is kinda humdrum – or, y’know, pretty good – the creator’s earnestness often helps to keep it fun and enjoyable.

It’s perhaps hard to pinpoint exactly why this release qualifies as good and not great, given that it’s functioning in that Potthast sweet spot of cynical and sweet, and even leans in to a heavier rock and punk vibe than releases, layering keys and vocal effects and drums in a way that sounds awfully full band-ish, despite (I’d guess) this again being an all-Dan affair, but all of that is maybe baked in to the reason: this kinda feels like it’s trying too hard to recapture a zeitgeist of youth, mapped to world-weary (or wizened) observations of adulthood. While on one level, this makes for some really badass boppers – the opening title track kicks, and throughout, Dan’s pop sensibilities are well on display, with not a single track incapable of causing some toe tapping – on another level, it amounts to this sounding like a Weezer riff at points, and features a track named ‘Lizzo.’ The focus on keys is interesting, but is also part of the tryhard vibe, sitting alongside some treated vocals and a piano ballad that makes this totally-solo-DIY thing feel radio ready – or the modern streaming equivalent. Kudos to that, supposing that was a goal; for me, it’s a little distancing.

However, wrap back around to my mindblowing opener: the album is pretty good. After a barrage of frontloaded hits, Dan does dig a bit deeper in the album’s midsection, applying this glossier sound template to some more interesting and moodier compositions / contemplations, definitely helping to prop the album up and make it worth a few spins.

And perhaps most importantly, none of this sounds not like Dan, which means if this style makes this stuff actually more accessible in some way, exposing more people to the artist, then I’m happy to ball up and toss all my complaints aside and cheer Dan on.