Letting You In

Kris Allen’s aptly titled fourth album is full of personal lyrics—the title track details the agony of new love—and deft touches that highlight his growth as a pop songwriter. “Faster Shoes” is piano-propelled and acerbic in a way that recalls Billy Joel, while Allen shows off his voice’s huskier side on the politically tinged “If We Keep Doing Nothing.” The upbeat hookiness of “Move” and “Time Will Come,” meanwhile, puts the easygoing charm that helped him win the eighth season of American Idol on display.