Harlan T. Bobo mixes the vocal inflections of Andrew Bird and the tone of Tom Waits. Too Much Love opens strong with “Only Love,” which is just the right amount of melancholy. Reminiscent of “Back in the Crowd,” the song sounds as if Tom Waits were singing me a bedtime lullaby. After the first two songs I was excited, expecting a texturally rich and unique experience. Instead, I was met with a mishmash of genres and loose ends. Harlan never pushes his singing into realms that are exciting or interesting. Rather, he relies on the same vocal inflections that are too well within his comfort zone. Also, he overuses spoken word portions, which emphasizes a lack of lyrical prowess and ranges from dull to creepy—I would not recommend listening to “Stop” alone in the dark. With the exception of few standout songs that leave me with hope for a stronger LP the next time around, Too Much Love left me feeling meh.
–Ashley (Goner)