He played the most recent ACL Fest and counts television’s Dr. Phil and vodka king Tito Beveridge as fans, yet Shawn Pander still flies under the radar among the flood of local singer-songwriters. Third album Black & White finds him relying too heavily on heart songs without saying anything fresh, especially compositions titled “Just to Be With You” and “Let Me Love You.” A slow funk reimagining of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe” falls completely flat. Nothing offensive, yet screaming for fresh breath.

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This article appears in December 23 • 2016.

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