CD review: Rob Blackledge, Inside These Walls (One Revolution)

By Adam Baer

Mississippi-born singer/songwriter Rob Blackledgehas a problem. He’s in love and he sucks at it. At least that’s what’s to be taken from the majority of tracks on his piano-laden whine-fest of a debut record. While being inept in matters of the heart is an easily relatable subject (at least to most of us), Blackledge falls flat in conveying the emotion of such a situation.

While Blackledge is a capable player (piano, guitar, drums), his ho-hum melodies are dull and non-engaging. On the album’s opener, “Should Have Known Better”, he pilfers a classic Sinatra and/or Dean Martin piano pop crooner vibe, and consequently, it’s the only thing that almost works. All down hill from there, kids!

Lyrically, his “Why don’t you stay?” middle school poetry is cringe-inducing at best. On the ballad “Everything”, he pleads: “You showed me how / Life is worth living / I have no doubt / It’s all about giving”. Yeesh! The track “Our World” is is an attempted call to arms to: “…join hands / and lift each other up”.  As social commentary goes there’s nothing wrong with a message like that. It would be nice if Blackledge believed it himself.

“Your City, My City”, a twinkly little number about waiting to settle down, has him claiming his ” … heart will split wide-open” if only for love. If only he had the heart to sing with the conviction it takes to make a line like that seem less cliche, maybe his songs would merit more attention.