Rating: NNNN
Like his wife, Aimee Mann, Michael Penn is one of those songwriters who’d be richer by far if critical success could be swapped for groceries at the market. That’s because Penn writes sophisticated pop that’s too timeless to be cutting-edge and too smart to be commodified into a quick top-40 hit. Stuff of quality, in other words.
Even so, those touched by his work will always return for subsequent helpings, and MP4 shines with Penn’s hallmarks – fine songs that are unerringly melodic but just twisted enough to be interesting.
