Dark Secret Love is the second studio album by American artist Ryan Ross Hernandez, released on September 18, 2007 on Spice Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place over a period of approximately seven months, on various dates and locations, between January 2007 and July 2007 at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California, and at Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Classified by Hernandez as a blues rock album, Dark Secret Love incorporates elements of various genres, ranging from pop to blues to rock to R&B. Approaching the album's production in a minimalist fashion, Hernandez intended to go against the typical sound of mainstream music, in terms of musical direction, and instead evoked to create his own style of music. In contrast to his previous work, the songs on Dark Secret Love are focus on lyrical themes such as love, relationships, loneliness and heartache.

Conceived in the wake of multiple events that impacted and distressed him the previous year, Dark Secret Love marked a major musical departure for Ryan Ross Hernandez lyrically and musically.

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From an early listen of the album, Rolling Stone called the album "the most emotional record of the year," but followed with, "the emotion and passion Hernandez' puts into his vocals and lyrics might be overlooked due to the album's depressing, dark look. Although he does it great, not every listener wants to hear a album made up of mostly sad love songs." The American-based magazine continued to say, "Hernandez' fan base is made up of mostly teenagers to young adults and these aren't those catchy pop/rock songs seen on previous attempts. While he might be trying to expand to older audiences, he might be on the brick of losing many of his fan girls."

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All songs written by Ryan Ross Hernandez except where noted.

1. "A Never-Ending Trip to Heartbreak" – 4:30

"The first track, I think it was like the second or third song I wrote for the record. After I had written it I knew I had a direction for the record. It sort-of brought together, very cohesively what I was trying to achieve with the idea of heartbreak and love, sort-of bringing that war-feel to a heartbreak."

2. "Why You Wanna Break My Heart Again?" – 4:35

"Now this next track, is really interesting that it comes as the second track because its a ballad. But it just somehow works. It's a ballad that I wrote 2 years ago or so. It was just sitting around and it was something I knew I wanted to put on a future record. True to form, for whatever reason, it just sits and sits and sits, and then we sew it up in the last minute. It just comes together and I'm really glad it did because it is a sad, sad song."

3. "Perfect Loneliness (I Don't Belong to Anyone)" – 4:28

"This is a song that is sort-of a break in the clouds, its this other idea. The idea that maybe you don't need any of this, maybe you don't need, maybe we don't need love at all. Wouldn't that be fun? And every once in a while it seems like a good idea. That good idea is set to music for 4 in a half minutes. If your out there and you don't have anything bringing you down, that might not be the worst thing in the world. You might be a little lonely but you don't have anything you don't like going on. So, this is a song you gotta turn up and sing along as loud as you can without a care in the world."

4. "She's Right Here in My Bed, My Beautiful Wife" – 5:14

5. "Fight On Until the Darkness Over Takes You" – 4:15

"This song means a whole lot to me. I was really hoping I could come up with a song about confronting fear. You could make it be whatever your fear is, mine on this song, is based on fear of falling in love. I had been writing this song, on paper, for many, many months and it just so happens to find its home in this song. And its the most open-ended song. It is designed to be your companion in life when things get tough, put on this song and sing along and everything will sort-of, all of a sudden come into focus and everything will feel achievable. So for everyone out there that sometimes just feels down, feels sad, just listen to this song. It's from my heart to yours."

6. "Fall Asleep With Roses in My Hand" – 4:07

7. "City Made of Vultures" – 4:11

8. "All You Need Is Love Is A Lie" – 5:06

"This number is about the pitfalls of romance. I'm kind of portraying a 'bad boy' version of myself in it. It is about where I'm currently at in my life. Like, it's hard to tell who truly cares about you and who just cares about your wallet. I've had that fear especially in relationships because when I've gone out with woman, I can tell if they like me for who I am, or by the idealized picture put into place in her mind. It is a sort-of mind twister when you hear it 'cause it is really 'I don't trust you with loving me', not the other way around like the song places it to be. But this song is deep enough in the record that by the time you hear, you'll know what I'm really trying to say."

9. "(I Know) The World Is Black & White" – 4:45

"This song is about the angst and unfamiliarity that comes with moving into unknown parts of life. The fact that no matter what, we can't stop a day from turning into a week, a year from turning into a decade, etc., can seem a little intimidating and disheartening. As humans we only know what we've experienced, and the idea of having to readjust and move forward without any regard for personal desire can be downright terrifying. While some people are just now 'boarding the train' and beginning the human experience, others have been aboard for awhile and their 'train ride' is gradually coming to a close as the natural cycle of life continues irrevocably. The simple way to explain it is a fear of growing up. Whether you are ready or not, sooner much rather than later it will hit you. It certainly hit me very hard."

10. "Don't Know Why" - 3:59

11. "From Now On We Are..." – 5:59

"The last song, which sort-of is the exit of the tunnel. Its where the daylight comes out and sends you out of the record, to see another day, another record down the line. This is the more cerebral, conclusion of the record. I was sitting at my home in New York, and I was sort-of reprising my life for the last couple of years. And that little light went off in my head and when I get a song idea that's big enough to write three or four verses, a bridge and a solo off of. So, as I had predicted it would be, it went on to became a tune. It's the most positive song on the record, which might not be the best thing to say 'cause it still has a hint of negatively but the song is a real truth in life about love. The outro for the record that is the most positive point of the record. Hopefully you'll like the record and pick it up when its out or maybe borrow it from a friend and rip it. Whatever as long as you like it, I'm cool with it."

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Primary musicians

* Ryan Ross Hernandez – vocals; guitars; production; art direction; graphic design
* Steve Jordan – drums on all tracks; percussion on all tracks except 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, and 11
* Pino Paterson – bass on all tracks except 2, 5, and 10

Additional musicians

* Jon McLagan – Hammond organ on tracks 3 and 6; Wurlitzer electric piano on tracks 3 and 5
* Anabelle Williams – piano on track 11; keyboards and horn arrangements assistance on track 11
* Jamie McKenzie – keyboards on tracks 1 and 11
* Robert Peterson – guitar on tracks 2 and 10
* Abagail Farve – acoustic guitars on track 9
* Russell Reynolds – saxophone on track 11
* Brendon Bradford – trumpet on track 11
* Ashley Perry – backing vocals on tracks 4, 5, and 8
* Roy Harlen – horns on tracks 8 and 11; horn arrangements on track 11

Additional personnel

* Emily Williams – art direction; graphic design
* Elliot Watson – photography

Production personnel

* Christopher Gordon – engineering
* Dan Johnson – engineering assistance (Capitol Studios)
* Taylor Stewart – engineering assistance (Avex Recording Studio)
* Martin Damon – digital editing
* Woody Foster – mastering

Edited by user 15 May 2011 12:45:17(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Rolling Stone

Dark Secret Love is a gorgeously produced, brilliantly stripped-to-basics album that incorporates blues, soft-funk, R&B, folk and pop in a sound that is totally owned by Hernandez. It's no stretch when trying to describe the sound of Dark Secret Love to color it in the light of work by such legends as Sting, Eric Clapton, Sade, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Steve Winwood.

Final Score: 90

Miami Herald

A smart, breezy album that deftly fuses his love for old-school blues and rock with his natural gift for sharp melodies and well-constructed songs. Miami-native puts his naysayers to rest by releasing one of the best records of the year.

Final Score: 86

Mojo

Mr. Hernandez has been writing songs again, good ones, with all the leanness and directness that distinguish his strongest work.

Final Score: 80

The New York Times

It's likely that the first couple of times you hear it, it may just wash over you completely. Yet give it a few plays and Hernandez' unique ability to reflect on the human condition cannot fail to charm.

Final Score: 80

Boston Globe

Many songs off Dark Secret Love are on the softer, adult alternative side, but his melodic voice, warm production, complex riffs and thoughtful lyrics should cure the violent reactions Hernandez' name used to evoke.

Final Score: 80

Billboard.com

While the artist has raised some eyebrows by evoking a blues sound, the collection certainly has the goods to eclipse from being considered a flop.

Final Score: 79

Los Angeles Times

Even when the proceedings threaten to get turgid, the intimacy of Hernandez expression never wavers, and in many ways that’s the album’s greatest victory.

Final Score: 70

All Music Guide

Here, Hernandez is effortlessly seductive and somewhat irresistible, and it’s easy to see why the ladies love cool Ryan.

Final Score: 70

Entertainment Weekly

Dark Secret Love is, for the most part, a very serious status quo of Hernandez — an expertly calibrated study in soft-pedal confessions, searching lyricism, and mildly groovy guitar licks.

Final Score: 63

NOW Magazine

It would be unfair to call Dark Secret Love an outright misfire, but it’s undoubtedly a regression on his winding, forward-moving path toward artistic maturity. Two steps forward, one step back then.

Final Score: 60

PopMatters

Dark Secret Love is terrific when Hernandez drops the seriousness, pondering and sending up his reputation as a rake.

Final Score: 60

Spin

His latest mundane disc lacks edge despite sometimes aiming for U2. The highlights on the record are when he drops the sensitive dude attitude, and shows a much welcomed swag to his music.

Final Score: 50

E! Online

Hernandez' talents are obvious, but there's so much more cheese than charm here that he would seem like a hard sell outside the Billboard heartland.

Final Score: 40

Uncut

His vocals here are mostly murmurs, and the musical accompaniment, though skillful throughout, lacks the punch of his previous albums. By all means Hernandez should continue as a blues artist because some light still shines at rare times on Dark Secret Love, but should leave this sensitive guy approach to writing.

Final Score: 40

Blender

It's clear that he's capable of far more than this. What's most puzzling and disappointing about Dark Secret Love, then, is that its banality seems like a deliberate choice.

Final Score: 30

(OOC: Not sure if this falls into the flopping territory but I like to keep reviews realistic, this is how in my mind if this was released in real life, how it would be viewed by critics.)