This is a curious little album, which I mean in a mostly positive way. Robin has a knack for coming up with atmospheric production that doesn't call attention to itself, and they provide the perfect backdrop for his songs. It's the songs that could use a little more work.
The tracks that do work are traditional pop songs. "High Above, Looking Down," for example, for example, starts with a simple electric keyboard line, and Robin's soft, unadorned vocals come in with a McCartney-esque melody. Harmonies come and go, a warped synth line pulses in and out, bass drum and snare thump consistently. It's a simple, lovely pop song with subtle bells and whistles.
It seems Robin tries to pull this off elsewhere, but he makes things too complicated for himself. He certainly has a Bowie fixation, and this isn't a bad thing - the roaring electric guitar on "The Fast One" lend the mid-tempo song a great texture - but the song itself is largely forgettable.
What many of these songs need is a shove in the right direction, tempo-wise: some plod, some are a little too frenetic. "I Ain't Heavy" pulls off a neat trick - it sounds like it's just acoustic guitar and vocals, but there's a reverby spookiness to it - but it could use a little more life.
This record is full of potential, which makes the songs that don't quite work even more frustrating. But the songs that do work are satisfying, and straightforward tracks like "Wild And Menacing." with its driving beat and strummy acoustic guitar, does the trick.
It's not that Robin doesn't know how to mix aesthetics with melody. It's just the delicate balance between the two that throws this record off-kilter, and when the ratio is fully intact, such as on the old-phonograph waltz "More In My Head," the results are good. That's the best track here, and it's a really good piece of work. Robin just needs to give his inner Neil Young some encouragement before focusing more on his inner Bowie.
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