Dear Love

It’s easy to be cynical about Suzie McNeil, the Canuck reality-TV survivor who has been gamely soldiering on since earning a spoonful of fame as the last woman standing on Rock Star: INXS. Dedicating her fourth record to “everyone who has ever lived through love and loss,” the Torontonian even gives a shoutout to ex-fiancé Scott Walters for being her muse. McNeil has been more than forthcoming about the romantic turmoil that led to these songs. But don’t expect Dear Love to be a harrowing breakup album. Beck’s Sea Change it ain’t. Dear Love works because it has all of the trappings of a shameless, radio-grabbing pop album. Immaculate production, airplay-friendly hooks, a semi-cool ’80s cover (The Eurythmics’ “Here Comes the Rain Again”) and even some celebrity musical guests (albeit Canadian celebrity musical guests that nobody has heard of) is the formula here, offering a breezy run through pop-rock strains that possess more polish than soul. Still, McNeil has a powerful voice and a nice way of surrounding her hooks with memorable melodies. As a result, tracks such as “Heartbeat,” “Merry Go Round” and “Drama Queen” are more likely to have you mindlessly singing along than pondering the grander ramifications of “love and loss.”
–Eric Volmers, Postmedia News