Jason Anderson is an easy guy to make fun of, and
not just because he named his latest record The Hopeful And The Unafraid. For Anderson, there's no
song that can't be oversung, no emotion that can't be overplayed, no transcendent
rock moment that can't be realized, so long as you have enough passion to make
the muscles bulge three feet out of your neck. Here, clearly, is a man with an
overflowing reservoir of earnestness rivaling that of a Bright Eyes fan
convention. But Anderson's emo Springsteen posturing on The Hopeful And The
Unafraid actually
isn't laughable at all. It's almost always inspiring, partly because he's a
really good songwriter with an eye for conversational detail, and partly
because he's an infectious performer utterly lacking in self-awareness. If
Anderson gave only 108 percent instead of the full 110, his guileless
commitment to classic-rock-styled deliverance would be embarrassing. Instead, he
shames cynics into being a little more fearless.