"Dan Bryk is a sumo champion of nerd pop, that strain of smartly-composed, hook-laden, lyrically self-lacerating melodies whose singers make up in aching romanticism and craftsmanship what they lack in social grace or good looks. It's a genre that, if it had any self-esteem, could proudly trace its lineage back through Aimee Mann and Pavement, Elvis Costello and Marshall Crenshaw, all the way back to Brian Wilson, who turned sulking in his room into such a sublime musical experience he spend half his life there.

On Lovers Leap, pianist/singer bryk blurts out his charmingly geeky preoccupations (fat girls, old computer games, fellow Canadian mope Leonard Cohen) while musically evoking the likes of Wilson, Randy Newman, Ben Folds, and, um, the Clash--catch the "London Calling" cop in the intro to "BBW (Chunky Girl)."

Where Bryk shines is his combination of polished musicality--rich with candied moments of sha-la-la transcendence--and raw lyrical bitterness, whether at the childhood pal who molested him (in "Fingers") or at a not-quite-ex-girlfriend (and by extension, himself and his current girl) in "She Doesn't Mean a Thing To me Tonight". The universality of Bryk's glorious awkwardness is proof that no one ever really makes it out of high school"

-Gary Susman