Everyone has his or her secrets. Those things that you don't want anyone to find out about, and if they did, you would be emotionally destroyed, hoping that God would just take you out before you'd ever have to speak to that person again. Well, my secret's been out for a few years now, and my close friends will agree, I'm a closet Duncan Sheik fan. He's my guilty pleasure, and I refuse to deny it any longer. His debut was released when I was 17-years-old, and I still boast that seeing him live at the Joint in Las Vegas that same year in 1996 was one of the best concert experiences I've ever had. In my defense, you must remember that this is the same kid who had Wolf Parade as his number one pick of last year, and no, I don't do drugs.

For the unfamiliar, Sheik's music has always drawn obvious comparisons to Nick Drake. He has a remarkable songwriting capability and talent that is clearly evident throughout his back catalog, not to mention the fact that he's got one of the best singing voices out there. His finest work to date has popped up on previous efforts like his self-titled debut and the 2001 release Phantom Moon, his most justifiable Drake comparison. While White Limousine really isn't that different from previous Sheik outings and might only seem to be an extension of Daylight, it finds him continuing to play to his strengths with plenty of memorable hooks and very well conceived song structure.

Though I pointed to his 2002 release Daylight as being the road White Limousine is driving on, it was primarily a commercially oriented album, whereas White Limousine finds Sheik reverting back to the more slow and melancholy tone of his earlier labors with the opener "Hey Casanova" and the brilliant "The Dawn's Request." Even the first single, "White Limousine" with it's minor chord progression, remains one of the catchiest songs he's written and I can't seem to shake it from my head. Detractors of Sheik's previous work won't find any change in his proven formula, still for fans White Limousine offers another comfortable and familiar ride.