American Heart＜限定盤＞

Benson Boone delivers an upbeat and frothy sophomore album with 2025s American Heart. One of the more unexpected pop successes of the decade, Boone broke through with his 2024 single "Beautiful Things," a stirring ballad whose message of gratitude and acceptance arrived in the form of a smack-you-in-the-face rock chorus. It was a lightning-in-the-bottle moment, at once capturing the Washington-bred singers effusive, mustache and bodysuit-accented pop charisma, while underscoring the Queen-meets-Billy Joel influences at play in his sound. The song cracked the Top Ten of the Hot 100, transforming his debut, Fireworks & Rollerblades, into a global sensation and earning him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in the process -- and this was all after he had willingly dropped out of a promising American Idol run in 2021. While he seemed like the genuine article, a former small-town kid turned pop star, he also suffered accusations of being a kind of industry plant whose music was more style over substance. All of which he addresses on American Heart. Working with producer/collaborators Jason Evigan, Evan Blair, and Malay, the album features many of the same elements that made his debut such a welcome surprise. Here we get dance-rock hooks accented with a modicum of electronic undercurrents and lyrics that poke a bit of ironic and knowing fun at Boones image, while also leaning into his natural, earnest optimism. A few of the songs -- including the hooky "Mr Electric Blue," "Man in Me," and "Wanted Man" -- conjure a synthy, neon-colored 80s vibe, like Olivia Newton-John and Freddie Mercury songs tailor-made for the high knees and hip twists of an aerobics class. "Mystical Magical" alone, with its meme-ified "moonbeam ice cream" line, falsetto vocals, and ELO-esque disco orchestra production, nicely amalgamates much of Boones appeal. That said, cuts like "Sorry Im Here for Someone Else," "I Wanna Be the One You Call," and the ballad "Momma Song" disappointingly dont sound that dissimilar from the work of more contemporary acts, or any of the dozens of artists that OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder has worked with. Overall, American Heart is pleasant, but it lacks some of the rock & roll kick and glitz that Boones stage-flipping antics imply -- a momentary rush of moonbeam ice cream that leaves a sweet aftertaste, but not much else. ~ Matt Collar