Rob Alexander Presents Latest Work

Fusing the best attributes of soft rock and pop music isn’t a new idea – truth be told, it’s one of the most influential concepts of the past forty years in terms of indie output in the last five decades. From alternative pop to more abrasive pop, this hybrid is something a lot of us have come to know and love through the years, but when Rob Alexander presents us with his rendition of the genre’s storied unsophistication in the new album Young Man’s Eyes, I can’t say that I feel like I’m listening to something old school nor derivative of a classic sound. Young Man’s Eyes has its aesthetical feet planted in the 21st century, but undeniably sports as much of a punch as any of its genre predecessors did. 

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“The Soul or the Skin,” “Fly on the Wall,” and “Pillars of Hercules (Davey, Nigel, & Dee)” are shaped entirely by attitude over anything instrumental, which isn’t to say that he’s somehow lacking in compositional depth at all. On the contrary, I think the powerhouse energy these tracks produce speaks more to the intensity of the passion Alexander is putting into his sound, specifically when the grit of the electric element in his music is allowed to run freely. Unchecked by the master mix but ultimately balanced by the bucolic sensibilities of “Black Widow Rising,” “Like an Angel,” “Your Shelter,” and the like, the headier tunes on Young Man’s Eyes never overshadow his soft rock-tinged counterparts for a second. 

“Merry Christmas in Heaven,” “The Kids Don’t Play Anymore,” the similarly retro “Sometimes We Fall Apart,” and “Freak Show” are supported by tremendous instrumental physicality, but I think it’s worth noting that none of this material utilizes size as a centerpiece – nor as a specific means of communication when it comes to setting up a narrative. Unlike some of the other South Florida songwriters to have come before him, Rob Alexander flirts more openly with the conventionality of pop songcraft than he ever does the rough cosmetics of rock, which doesn’t minimize his aggression – ironically enough, it accentuates it in a way few will expect when they hear it for the first time. I’m impressed with the technique in this piece, and I doubt I’m going to be the only critic who says as much. 

APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/young-mans-eyes/1685321278

Lyrically and sonically provocative but still living well within the creative means of the man behind its design, Young Man’s Eyes is an album I can highly recommend to soft rock and pop fans alike who are in the mood for something that goes one shot over the limit every chance it gets. Rob Alexander enjoys quite the indie profile right now, but considering the buzz a record like this is likely to generate among the college radio crowd, I’m hoping he won’t sacrifice any of the organic qualities in his sound just to appease the masses. Something about the ethic driving this piece home tells me I have nothing to worry about, and once you check out Young Man’s Eyes, I believe you’ll understand what I’m talking about. 

Timothy Ball