event Brett Dennen

Of all the boyish singer-songwriters who’ve emerged in recent years, leave it to one of the most baby-faced to bring some unpleasantness and grit to the lot. Though far from a revolutionary, Brett Dennen sings with naïve directness on 2006’s So Much More about our crappy ex-president, pharmaceutical companies, and war, plus a few all-purpose laments in his high-yet-sandpapery voice. Still, Dennen’s obviously lightened up since then: 2008’s Hope For The Hopeless is much more in the John Mayer mold, as evidenced by lead single “Make You Crazy.” Its bubbly, radio-friendly sheen has some ballast courtesy of Afrobeat guru Femi Kuti—although it’s the song’s Mandy Moore-starring video that’s given Dennen his biggest boost.