Consumer Guide Album

The Human Hearts: Viable [Open Boat, 2023]
Musically, 64-year-old frontman-pianist-songsmith-Ph.D-Bandcamper Franklin Bruno will never be any kind of virtuoso or heartthrob. Formally sapient and technically accomplished enough never to blow a note of simple yet well-honed melodies he has the good sense to design as mere albeit catchy tunes, he never misses a well-chosen note as a singer. But for all that there's something in his plain, conversational timbre that leaves the pursuit of anything that could be called beautiful to the likes of Jenny Toomey, the indie frontperson turned Ford Foundation honcho who graces several of these tracks. From the flag pin he refuses to wear over his heart to the promos he requests you save from the sell pile, Bruno writes socially conscious although not therefore ideological songs, which means he's a very smart guy who sees the world the way I and I bet you do. For the cherry on top he covers an Everly Brothers obscurity called "June Is as Cold as December." And before you go all global warming on him, be aware that June is actually just the prettiest girl in town. A-