Review: Michelle Branch Returns With A New Album Called 'Hopeless Romantic'

After many years, Michelle Branch has finally delivered her first full studio album since Hotel Paper. Between that time, she released many EPs, plus collaborated with her friend to release an album under the name of The Wreckers.

It's been a long time, but fans are now happy that she has released some new material.

Michelle Branch may not be a household name in today's music world, but she got pretty famous from her 2001 album called The Spirit Room. That album was very successful as songs such as Everything, You Get Me and You Set Me Free were featured in many TV shows and movies back in the day.

That album had a classic early '00s pop feel to it and remains to this day to be my favorite female artist album of all time.

I'm not alone on this opinion as The Voice season 3 winner Cassadee Pope loves that album too.

Hotel Paper was released in 2003 and had a more country/pop feel to it.

It wasn't as well recognized as The Spirit Room, but it's still an enjoyable album. After the release of that album, Michelle Branch laid low releasing EPs and focused on her family among other things.

Musical artists usually tend to change their sound as the years go by and Branch is no different. Hopeless Romantic sounds a lot different compared to both The Spirit Room and Hotel Paper.

That being said, Branch has not "sold-out" as the album does not sound like the usual stuff we hear from the radio today. It has a more indie rock feel to it.

On iTunes they classify this album as "Alternative" as opposed to Pop music and I do not disagree with them.

I know some fans of the older albums may not like the new sound, but I have enjoyed this album a lot.

It's the kind of album that I can listen to when I'm out skateboarding or relaxing while playing a video game.

Anyway, let's now start talking about the individual songs. One of the best songs is the first track on the album called Best You Ever.

It has the most pop music feel to it and has the most memorable chorus. The second track called You're Good is slower, but sounds similar to some to UK artist Florrie.

Another very good song on this album is Fault Line. This song also has a relaxing feel to it.

It's a song that you could listen to while lying on the beach. Bad Side, Heartbreak Now and the title track Hopeless Romantic are also tracks you should look out for.

There are a few songs that sound like '70s or '80s disco tracks. The most funky song in the entire album is Living a Lie.

It's the fastest pace song and sounds different from the rest of the album. There are 14 tracks in total and there aren't many weak songs here.

Overall, Hopeless Romantic is a decent album even though it sounds much different to Michelle Branch's previous work.

The songs have a skateboarding/surfing feel to them in my opinion.

Personally, the album won't be able to surpass The Spirit Room, but at least Branch didn't sell out and mimic all of the commercial music we hear on the radio.

Verdict: 4/5

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