"Whisper house" is Duncan Sheik´s first album on a major label since "Daylight" (2002), the music on the new album is written for a musical theatrical piece with a story centered around a light house. I must say that the music gets better if you know what the songs are written for, I prefer his sophisticated pop before the indie/folk sound on "Whisper house" but Duncan is an awesome melody maker that catch the attention of the listener anytime. Duncan is certainly not a newcomer when it comes to working with musicals, his score for the Broadway musical Spring Awakening won 8 Tony Awards and 1 Grammy Award.
If you want a retrospective look at this amazing artist, you should check out Rhino records 2 CD collection "Brigher/Later : A Duncan Sheik Anthology" from 2006. It´s easier to understand the music on "Whisper house" if you know what he´s done earlier in his career, imagine if Nick Drake and The Eagles collaborated - the result could very well be songs like "It´s better to be dead" and "The tale of Solomon Snell". Both haunting beautiful but if you want a typical Duncan Sheik song, then "Play your part" will satisfy your needs and I also welcome the guest performer Holly Brooke on several songs. They make a perfect musical couple on "How it feels", just one good example of 2 fine voices. Let this album grow!
Ryan Tedder, the singer of OneRepublic wrote a slew of other pop artists hit songs including Leona Lewis´ "Bleeding Love," and "Happy"), Beyonce´s "Halo" and Jordin Sparks´ "Battlefield".
