Dean Wareham (Bonus Track Version)

For his self-titled debut solo album, Dean Wareham—the man behind Galaxie 500, Luna, and Dean & Britta—joins forces with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James. The result has much less reverb than you might expect. As on Wareham's previous five-song solo EP Emancipated Hearts, the inclusion of his wife and bassist Britta Phillips on tracks here makes the difference between “solo” and Dean & Britta releases questionable. In fact, anyone who first fell in love with the muted, somber tones of Galaxie 500 has been rewarded with music of similar soul and technique with Wareham's various projects since. No matter the name on the project, the songs and sounds reflect Wareham’s New Zealand–born heart. Like most songwriters who’ve grown up in public, Wareham’s songs have become more emotionally and stylistically varied along the way, with humor, in particular, making its presence known on “Holding Pattern,” while his love for Lee Hazlewood is obvious on “Love Is Not a Roof Against the Rain” and Françoise Hardy can be imagined singing “My Eyes Are Blue.” The bonus track is a Jim James remix of “Happy & Free.”