Chris Robley
The Drunken Dance of Modern Man in Love
Cutthroat Pop Records/In Music We Trust
Chris Robley is a wonder all his own. His second album, The Drunken Dance of Modern Man in Love is a smorgasbord of music crushed into one 40-minute offering. It’s like going to a buffet and acting like Marlon Brando; wanting it all and getting it all…except without the expanding waistline. This entire album could be looped for days and you would still hear something different each time.
The “save me” chorus chant on “Centaurea” is like listening to ghosts whisper in a darkened graveyard, complete with a haunting clarinet in the background. The song then explodes into what could be the theme for a deceased matador on the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. It’s one of the few songs that has sent chills down my spine. Robley follows it with the Dancing-For-the-Stars-gone-indie “N.E. Brazee.” It’s filled with brass and is ready for a partner dance; even with its tribal percussion and guitar solo.
“A Vague Notion of Nothing Much” is a hard-hitting melancholy track about a couple who are about to become parents and don’t want to while the lesbian couple next door talks about how a baby would make their union perfect.
The beauty of “Faulkner’s South” is nothing short of brilliant. It’s the perfect song for sitting on the northeast coast and watching the ships roll in. It is then followed with the acoustic instrumental strangely titled “388 Hate House.”
The Drunken Dance of Modern Man in Love is nothing short of outstanding in that it mixes and molds so many genres, yet still keeps a cohesive feel. Robley is a fine example of how breaking the boundaries is not only good for music, but essential.
Chris Robley: http://www.chrisrobley.com
