Dark Touches

After a mediocre response to The Handler, Sean Tillmann put his Har Mar Superstar persona on hiatus for five years. In that time, as well as working on on film projects as a screenwriter/actor, he maintained his musical chops by touring with Neon Neon, playing music as his indie alter ego Sean Na-Na, and ghost-writing songs for other pop stars. Endowed with a knack for knowing what makes the perfect, sexy pop song, (he has songwriter credits on hits by Kelly Osbourne, Eve, and Jennifer Lopez), Tillmann shopped "Girls Only" to the Cheetah Girls and "Tall Boy" to Britney Spears, both of whom declined. Too bad for them. Unfazed that the lyrics were primarily about sexing up boys at the club, Har Mar took the beats back and embraced them as his own, fine-tuning them into two of his biggest party jams. With a floor-rattling hook and an acidic electro-bassline worthy of FutureSex/LoveSounds, "Tall Boy" works equally well as a dedication to Budweiser king cans as it does as a lusty ode to basketball players. Meanwhile, "Girls Only," features Har Mar on a Ladies Night escapade, strutting his stuff while promoting grrrl power and singing about his cute little manicure. It's a strange juxtaposition, but for those who bought into the sex-symbol status of a little chubby balding dude without question, believing that his sexiness transcends gender shouldn't be much of a stretch. Unfortunately, even with the added element of androgyny, after putting out four albums and 50 songs, the Superstar shtick is old-hat. As with his other releases, there are some misses (the purposely dated NKOTB/New Edition-flavored "Almond Joy" and "Dope-Man" come to mind). That said, Har Mar Superstar's never been known for solid full-lengths. He's a song-based artist, and Dark Touches features some of his best singles. ~ Jason Lymangrover