Waldner – Found and Lost

When your voice is as prominent in the mix as David Waldner’s is on Found and Lost, it’s difficult to disguise lyrical faux-pas. Musically, Waldner is an efficient melody maker, with each track boasting infectious hooks, but the earnestness is less appealing in verbal form.

Opener Going Up Against Goliath encapsulates the imbalance: musically, the biggest complaint is over-polished production, but lyrically? “Have you ever had to fight for what you thought was right?” Waldner starts unpromisingly, before placing a friendly hand on the downtrodden addressee’s shoulder. “Well just because there’s no one else believes in you this day, doesn’t mean that it’s always going to be this way.”

The asinine platitudes risk evoking Daniel Powter, and no one wants that abomination in their “If you liked this, try these” column. Mull Historical Society is a more generous comparison, but Waldner is some way off matching Colin MacIntyre’s successes.