But if you don’t get to the repeat button on time, you’re on to the next track. In this case, the next track is “Shipwrecked,” which is a plea to a man who can’t see that his love is lonely when he’s away all the time. This is a fuzzy alternative romp, followed by a pop piano ballad (the wonderfully titled “Bovine Intervention”) that, at +1:35, is the album’s longest track, reflective and sad.
“Fair E” is another charmer, a feel-good number that puts a mellotron and two piano players to good use. “Stole All You Wear” again goes in a different direction, serving as a better vehicle for d’Almeida’s vocal range and even has a wistfully twangy pedal steel that adds a strange, somehow fitting dose of country to the song.
And even though the album doesn't quite maintain the dazzlingly addictive pace of the first six songs, Free Souvenirs is unquestionably worth the price of admission. This is emotional songwriting without being angsty or emo. There is a raw honesty to both these words and this music, embedded with a wonderful sense of humor that’s apparent all over the packaging and also in songs like “Fair M,” which is an outtake of “Fair E” that features the background singing of d’Almeida’s dog and the added line “No barking!” to the lyrics. At –0:04, it’s the closest he gets to the official perfect pop song. He’ll get there one of these days...
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