Day I Forgot

iTunes Review

Singing in a vocal style similar to the intense angst-ridden verve of Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, New Jersey singer-songwriter Pete Yorn brings an epic-like quality to everything he sings. With three major league producers (Andy Wallace, Brad Wood and Scott Litt) turning various knobs, Yorn enjoys a sonically enhanced playground where the guitars and keyboards turn into walls of impenetrable sound. “Come Back Home” and “Pass Me By” are overwhelming in their U2-like fortresses of sound, while “Crystal Village” follows with a shimmering grind that reveals Yorn’s downplayed Britpop side. Mostly, he focuses on an Americana-based classic rock that somehow manages to avoid the alt-country genre his voice suggests he might discover should his music every get as whispery as his sedated vocal delivery. Instead, the arrangements remain rock-centric with everything from boogie riffs — “Carlos (Don’t Let It Go To Your Head)” — to general goofiness (“Burrito”) adding to the mix. “Committed” is unnervingly close to a Vedder-like emotional quake, while “Long Way Down” makes use of a soothing, summery melodic glide.