Audioholic Media

I first found out about Rob Giles on a boat in Newport Harbor back in 2007 with him playing an acoustic guitar and I think there was a melodica in there somewhere. He played songs like “Tambourine” and “You’re Not Listening” and I bought his CD (2006′s This Is All In Your Mind) and was pretty much floored by the intricate arrangements and songwriting prowess. Rob has since joined the singer/songwriter Voltron Force known as The Rescues, and I since have lost his CD to a girl, so I was pleased to read announcements about new Rob Giles solo shows last year and a new ALBUM this year!

When We Were Happy
Release Date: February 28th

01. Keep Calm, Carry On
02. I Play In Your Band
03. You’re Not Listening
04. Headlights
05. Please (I’m Just Getting Started)
06. I Don’t Know Anything At All Anymore
07. Almost Out Of Light
08. You Killed All the Flowers
09. Rotten Apple
10. When We Were Happy

This new album (titled When We Were Happy) is a strong example of well-crafted and wonderfully effective songs of many shapes and sizes. Lead track “Keep Calm Carry On” is a perfect power-pop gem just waiting to be put to a TV show dance number; acoustic missive “Almost Out of Light” is a deceptively beautiful play on photography and inevitable regrets; “Headlights” encapsulates its tone of driving blind with inventively incongruous musical textures rolling together through sheer determination; “You Killed All the Flowers” is a hung-over, fuzzed-out, post-breakup morning set to music; and so on. Any of the elements in these tracks alone would be impressive– the songwriting and composition, the arrangements, the rock/pop production, the vocal range– but taken as a whole, this is a collection of the best tools in the music world put to their perfect and intended uses, creating individual pieces with distinct purpose and crackling with creative flow. More than a few moments here where I had to pause the recording just to appreciate a line, or a melody, or something else that slayed me on this album.

These songs have quite a bit going in the win column for them, and Rob’s voice really delivers a punch throughout, hitting the big moments on huge choruses like “Please (I’m Just Getting Started)” and pulling back to a devastating almost-whisper on the title track’s chorus, not to mention the thoughtful romanticism and easily-hummable interplay of “I Play In Your Band” (with backing vox from wife/Private Practice firebrand Caterina Scorsone). Overall it’s hard to point out just one strong suit on this album– the sheer variety of musical motifs and the quality of the finished product are just so impressive. This is songcrafting at its highest and most satisfying level.

I caught some of the songs which ended up on When We Were Happy live at one of the Hotel Cafe residency shows from Rob and All New People (his live band). He had a lot of people on stage, all of whom (in addition to being new) were well utilized with the different sounds coalescing on these songs. Check the video for a gratifying performance of bulletproof track “You’re Not Listening.” Yes, they’re pretty much all this good.

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When We Were Happy is out 2/21 exclusively on iTunes and 2/28 everywhere else.
For more on Rob Giles, visit robgiles.com.