Superficial listeners will hear Rob Alexander’s work as America’s model of Elton John. Pay attention deeper, nonetheless, and also you’ll quickly understand that, regardless of Elton’s affect, the Englishman’s songwriting is nothing greater than a reference level for Alexander’s individualistic creativity. He’s far more than an imitator. Younger Man’s Eyes, his gorgeous new album, is a thirteen-cut opus that stands out because the Florida singer’s most absolutely realized launch but. He checks off all of the containers you anticipate and even takes his music into surprising territory for many who’ve adopted him since his debut. Alexander is certainly feeling his oats and several other of the songs crackle with a fiery degree of confidence we haven’t heard earlier than.

That new degree of self-assurance comes leaping out. “The Soul or the Pores and skin” is a decisive pop-rock masterpiece in miniature. The drumming performances scattered over the whole thing of Younger Man’s Eyes stand out for one constant high quality above others. They possess a rattling the torpedoes, full pace forward consistency that by no means wavers. Alexander’s manufacturing for the discharge captures a drum sound with ample snap. “The Soul or the Pores and skin” is arguably the very best illustration of this in motion and makes for a strong opener.

“Freakshow” is a digital 180-degree flip from the primary observe. Alexander toughens his musical slant with a guitar-dominated observe heavy on riffs but nonetheless grounded in melody. He proves himself to be a succesful vocalist for this type of materials as properly. “Typically We All Fall Aside” performs to Alexander’s long-established songwriting strengths, balladry, with out ever turning into a casualty of cliché. He’s capable of evoke empathy with such songs with out ever sounding too saccharine, no small feat, and the union of keyboard coloration with a plaintive piano melody proves to be an efficient tandem.

“Your Shelter” is an much more cinematically inclined ballad. It begins in a stark, stripped-back trend and steadily accumulates a way of grandeur that by no means sounds pressured or heavy-handed. The observe, as properly, boasts a few of Younger Man’s Eyes’ finest lyrics. “Get Over Your self” has a near-relentless keyboard assault. The uptempo clip he takes on for this track doesn’t show to be a problem for Alexander and his duet companion Gigi Price, nonetheless, and every vocalist gives a unique spin for this efficiency. It’s the album’s most up-to-date single and it isn’t onerous to listen to why.

The regular piano march and accompanying strings of “Younger Man’s Eyes” emphasize its elegiac tilt with out ever leaning an excessive amount of on melodrama. It’s an enormous assertion track and Alexander’s vocal treats it as such. His expertise for dramatizing materials akin to this helps make it one of many album’s key tracks. “The Children Don’t Play Anymore” options one of many album’s most various preparations and it’s spectacular listening to Alexander incorporate such a wealthy musical world into a relatively small body. His powers of condensation are probably the most helpful belongings he has as a songwriter and performer. There’s a bounty of rewards out there for anybody listening to Younger Man’s Eyes and it’s no stretch relating to it as Rob Alexander’s finest launch but. 

Mindy McCall