Clem Snide singer Eef Barzelay has crafted sly and heartfelt songs about some unlikely people and places, whether he's romanticizing a Wal-Mart parking lot, ruminating on the hard life of Lucille Ball, or singing from the perspective of a dancer in hip-hop videos. Consequently, he's gotten a bad rap as a bit of an irony merchant -- the sort of guy who infuses his every bit of wordplay with a sly wink. But Barzelay has also written an entire album, 2003's underrated Soft Spot, full of nothing but achingly sincere love songs; for him, cleverness is a means to an end, and never an end unto itself.
In "Denise," a briskly charming mid-tempo love song from Clem Snide's recent seventh album The Meat of Life, Barzelay stays on the sweet side -- "What we have is more than good / It seems to shine a light behind my eyes" -- even as his affection meanders into obsession. (No come-on, no matter how heartfelt, can be considered pure of intent if it contains the phrase "I will not be ignored.") But that's part of what makes Barzelay such a magnificent songwriter: No matter how straight-ahead his subject matter may be, and no matter how directly he seems to express his emotions, his words find him sneaking sideways glances -- and saying more than he seems to mean.
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