Darren Espanto’s sophomore effort yields hip and quirky tunes

ESPANTO. Easy-to-like repertoire.

DARREN ESPANTO’S sleek sophomore album, “Be With Me,” allows the 15-year-old “The Voice Kids” alumnus to essay songs that judiciously utilize the note-breaching skills he’s famous for. It also benefits from a better-arranged lineup of tracks that suit his prodigious voice, interpretive ability and singing style.

While it’s true that there are tunes that are weighed down by generic melodies (“Surrender” and the title track), many of Darren’s songs are easy to like because they aren’t just gorgeously sung, they also capture the doe-eyed optimism of youth, made more palatable by their hip and quirky instrumentation.

We like “Be With Me” better than Darren’s debut album because, despite some of its radio-friendly tracks, we were turned off by the first album’s “canny” and rushed sound.

But, with the young comer’s musicality on the upswing, the gradual changes are “smoothening” the singer’s rough edges as he gets increasingly confident in his musicality and technique.

Songs that benefit from Darren’s youthful energy and vibe include the midtempo “Parachute,” “Talking ’Bout Love” and the groovesome “Starlight.”

But, Jungee Marcelo’s lyrically exquisite “Alam,” the album’s best track, brings out the sparkle in Darren’s pipes—as does the self-penned “Home,” which gorgeously displays the gradual note-shuttling and placement-shifting of Darren’s voice, from pianissimo to fortissimo, and back again.

The album’s downside? Its increasingly “mature” love songs. Take the catchy but overly theatrical “7 Minutes” and make the baby-faced 15-year-old intone excessively dramatic lines like, “I’d rather fight with you than be happy with someone else…” —Not age-appropriate, to say the least.

A more suitable song for Darren is his other composition, the endearing “Hanggang Hi Hello,” one of the collection’s highlights, where Darren sings about the heady thrills of puppy love.

Boosted by Ferdie Marquez’s sprightly arrangement, the song is as light and bubbly as it is devoid of self-conscious artifice!