Brit-style pop has compelling introspective side

If you don't listen closely, you might think the first track of David Mead's Mine and Yours is a Radiohead album in disguise, with undertones of Britain's pop artist Jason Falkner. But if you listen more carefully, Mead's sweet, high-pitched voice is laced with insight and optimism, proving he is his own musician.\nOverall, Mine and Yours combines an impressive variety of sounds -- ranging from slow and somber to rhythmic and hopeful -- but the album fails to completely avoid the common manufactured sound of today's mainstream pop music. Nonetheless, Mead's lyrics provide a depth that most pop music lacks, thus giving his music a compelling sound worthy of listening to at least once. \nSeveral tracks are beautiful, containing lyrics you can identify with and beats that require listening to over and over again. But Mine and Yours also contains several tracks where the poignant lyrics are lost in the annoying melody and too-shrill lead vocals of Mead. Songs like "Girl On The Roof" and "Flamin' Angel" are painfully monotonous.\nThe fourth track, "Echoes Of The Heart," sounds dark and ominous, but as the chorus repeats, "Not a sound, then it starts/Something speaks from the dark/Not a voice/Only echoes of a heart," the song is immediately colored with a more uplifting sound.\nMead also showcases his ability to reach a crazy amount of high notes as his voice constructs the beautiful rhythms of "No One Left To Blame." "Comfort" has a meditating instrumental sound, as Mead's voice truly conveys the human need for comfort. "We're talking trash again like long sedated lovers/Baby what's become of us/A latent memory of Southern spring and summer/Maybe Winter in New York," suggests the universal issue of relationships in trouble.\nIn contrast to these slower, introspective songs, Mead also shows a more upbeat side with "Mine And Yours" and "Venus Again," both of which sound like they belong on the aforementioned Falkner's first album, Author Unknown. The most unique sounding song "Elodie" is reminiscent of the United States' Peter Salett and Scotland's Belle and Sebastian, with a syrupy-sweet rhythm and soft drum beats that keep the song moving.\nMead's Mine and Yours is certainly worth listening to, but will most likely not stay in my stereo for long.