According to his bio, Chris Robley had a childhood epiphany listening to Paul Simon's 'Boy In The Bubble'. This should alert listeners to the fact that his music is straightforward and melodic in a bubbly kind of way.
Five years of silence since his previous release is broken by the singer-songwriter's fifth album recorded in Portland, Oregon. Apparently it was mostly sung live in a seaside house with a group of seven other musicians. This makes it sound like a jolly time was had by all but I can't say it put me in a party mood. Quite the opposite in fact.
Robley's kitschy balladry may be far removed from the libidinous commercial pop that dominates the mainstream but the 'ooh ooh baby' style choruses that appear at irritatingly regular intervals somehow seem just as manufactured and fatuous.
He is apparently a published poet but the lyrics here amount to little more than doggerel. A couple of for instances : "Living without you is like a heart attack" (Stained Glass Windows) and "The blue of your eyes was the same as the clear summer skies" (Silently).
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If your idea of a romantic tune is Chris De Burgh's The Lady In Red' then you might warm to a song like Veterans Day in which he gushes: "You wore that blue dress you knew I liked so much".
To make matters worse his only advice to Lonely People is to recommend "don't you cry" over an Hawaiian guitar backbeat. Precious little comfort to the Eleanor Rigbys of this world.
The influence of The Beatles is strong but even Ringo's songs were more profound than this!
Chris Robley's website
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