Thank God for Britain. Whenever I lose faith in the American music scene (i.e. Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers and Katy Perry) I can always find salvation in Britain. The latest group to win me over is a quintet that goes by the name Passenger. Self-described as alternative acoustic folk, these Brighton boys are a bit more ambient than the name lets on. With splashes of keys, computer twitches and a heavy dose of loops, this is a chilled out tonic for the soul. Though the overall tone is mellow, there are a good bit of danceable numbers on this offering that cement this as a CD to watch. It seems to take what British rapper Just Jack puts together on his album Overtones and dresses it up with a singer/songwriter sensibility. The album’s greatest asset is that It takes a good four tracks before there’s any sign of a clunker. Fifth track “Do What You Like” is a bit too shrill and in-your-face but for most bands this song would be a career saver. After that it’s one killer song after the next. The vocals are very reminiscent of Damien Rice and David Gray and it’s those comparisons that will probably carry this band to the promised land. There’s something about minimal guitars, a gently lilting rhythm section, smooth verses and irresistible choruses that’s too hard to pass up. Released last fall, the album hasn’t made much of a splash in the United States, but the slightest amount of buzz could turn that around.

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