Robledo – Broken Souls
Robledo – Broken Souls
Frontiers Music srl
Release Date: 14/07/2023
Running Time: 42:51
Review by Wallace Magri
8/10
James Robledo isn’t a beginner in rock music. The singer worked hard in the music industry of his country, Chile, playing in several bands, such as Alternancia (2004 – 2008), who won the #1 prize in the highlight Chilean music TV show. Besides that, James Robledo himself also was nationally and internationally acclaimed in the popular TV show “The Voice Chile”. After all the success reached in his previous career footsteps, Robledo joined Renagade – an Argentinean based band, with whom he recorded an album which featured a duet with Chilean singer Ronnie Romero. Being closer to Ronnie Romero (Lords Of Black, Sunstorm, Rainbow), helped Robledo to get a licensing offer from Frontiers Music srl, and right away he was phagocytosed by the key composer of Frontiers – Del Vecchio, releasing his first album “Wanted Man”, in 2022.
I guess that now everybody knows how the story goes… Robledo’s second album, “Broken Souls”, walks through Melodic Hard Rock and AOR songs, in the company of consecrated musicians from the cast of the above-mentioned Frontiers, like Nasson, who delivers good solos, especially in the Melodic Hard Rock song ‘Every Day’. The backing musicians include bass player Alex Jansen, drummer Jacopo Martignoni, and the unexpected presence of Alessandro Del Vecchio playing keyboards and backing vocals. Del Vecchio’s trademark compositions are all over “Broken Soul”, which makes the direction of all 12 songs of the album predictable – the same patterns verse/pre-chorus/chorus always in an amazing crescendo/guitar solo and blah blah blah…
However… It’s impossible to not respect the quality of all the musicians involved on “Broken Souls” and Del Vecchio’s impeccable production work, as usual. But, of course, the main accolades go to the great melodic singer James Robledo, who made his way from South America to all around the world through his own merits. I only hope that Robledo’s third album might come with a real soul inside it.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Broken Soul
02. Real World
03. Right Now, Right Here
04. Fire
05. Over
06. Every Day
07. My Own Hope
08. Victims With no Crime
09. Dead Cities Lights
10. To the End
LINE-UP:
James Robledo – Vocals
Nasson – Guitar
Alessandro Del Vecchio – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Alex Jansen – Bass
Jacopo Martignoni – Drums
LINKS:
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