antiMusic.com: Michael Cullen

Michael Cullen - True Believer

.
Michael Cullen is a songwriter almost as open and honest as Nick Cave, with a singing style nearly as low registered as that famous Australian - albeit with more ability to remain on key. He is also inspired by. Leonard Cohen, whom he name-drops on a song called "Black Dog." "Well, I asked Leonard Cohen, 'How lonely does it get for all the black dogs who can't forget?'" It's a bit pretentious, but it gives a good indication of where Cullen is coming from.

The album True Believer is a series of literary pop songs that present Cullen as a smart, if slightly depressed, observer. Although he comes off sounding brutally honest, you get the funny feeling he's singing in character, rather than spilling his own guts. Even so, one called "Nothing Special," which works in a horn part, is a moving song.

If anything, Michael Cullen is a true believer, primarily in sad romantic songs. And that makes him one true disciple of Leonard Cohen, indeed.