Moody and melodic, Chris Blake writes alternative pop/rock songs about relationships, global warming and Steve Perry.
Stubborn in its moodiness but unshakably melodic, Chris Blake’s new album WAVE was named to evoke a number of things—a sudden rush of feeling, a disturbance, a movement. While the album spans many genres of popular music—from country and progressive rock to folksy hip hop and 80s pop—each song retains a familiar feel, adding to the album’s overall sense of yearning and powerlessness. In fact, all of WAVE's characters seem to exist in a kind of apathetic limbo where they are haunted by the past, fearful of the future, but clinging to hope.
Listen.com wrote, ”Blake doesn't hit you over the head with his acute emotional awareness. Like a good artist, he waits by the door, strumming his guitar faithfully and hoping you'll hear what a sweet, insightful guy he really is.”
The album kicks off with “Phantom Love,” a Depeche Mode-injected Kurt Cobain anthem for the dispossessed, followed by the apocalyptic “Party on the Last Iceberg.” With its eerie tremolo guitar-and-concertina combo anchored by a "We Will Rock You-ish" hip hop beat, the song is already catching on with club DJs in Southern California—suggesting there may be a few partiers on that last iceberg after all. Featured songs also include “How Journey Saved My Life,” a nostalgic look back on the days when the princes of pop ruled the airwaves, and “Trains,” which evokes the haunting urgency of Springsteen’s “Candy’s Room” or the Spinto Band’s “Oh Mandy.” But the album’s brightest—and perhaps most mournful moment—is when Blake drifts into Dixie Chicks territory with “Mean It Now,” a mandolin-and-guitar driven ballad that laments how global turmoil renders even the strongest of relationships a little less reliable.
In college, he penned "Burning Houses," which became the official song for USC’s presentation of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. As a music student he was also privileged to glean songwriting tips from his hero Jackson Browne.
Blake’s previous effort APARTMENT, which garnered the interest of A&M Records and Arista Records, also lent songs to several independent films, including "Silent Hearts" starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste from the hit show "Without a Trace." But the closest Blake has come to stardom (or infamy) was when he almost got into a car accident with who he swears was Bono in Westwood Village one foggy night.
Blake has played some of the most storied clubs in Los Angeles and New York, including Whisky A Go Go, Coconut Teazer, Molly Malone's, Cafe Figaro, Cafe Sine and Sidewalk Cafe. WAVE will soon be available on iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon, and just about anywhere music is sold or streamed online. More on Chris Blake can be found at www.myspace.com/chrisblakemusic.
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