/Passenger is a relatively new band out of Brighton, England, and their sound is notable for deft guitar work, solid pop hooks, and complex, layered lyrics. This song, for instance, is well-suited for toe-tapping and singing along... but it quickly becomes clear that it's a song about stalking. The creepiness of the lyrics offsets the sunny pop bounce of the music, but once you're in, you're hooked. I have played this song at least 25 times since I got it about a week ago. And when I found /Passenger's debut album, Wicked Man's Rest, on eMusic -- bang! It's in my library.*

The other songs on the album contain lyrics that show wit, depth, in many instances irony, and an occasional dollop of melancholy. (One song, "Girl I Once Knew" offers up both irony and melancholy, as singer/songwriter Mike Rosenberg catalogs ways his girlfriend reminds him of another girl, and ending by saying the old girlfriend left him "empty and confused," totally unlike the new girl. Well, I think it's ironic.) The guitar-driven pop beats provide a gentle (not to say shy or retiring) backdrop to Rosenberg's poignant and evocative voice.

*This version of "Walk You Home" is available for free download from the band's website, at the band's website. It differs slightly from the album version -- and the whole album is streamable at the site, and the lyrics are there as well. (I have no idea why the song is referred to as "Night Vision Binoculars" on the album, but "Walk You Home" elsewhere. Perhaps they can't make up their minds.)