Ryan Cabrera had a hit right out of the gate with his 2004 major label debut, Take It All Away. The disc, co-produced by John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, spawned the top ten single, "On The Way Down." After making his second album rather quickly, the singer/songwriter took his time creating his third disc, the 11-track The Moon Under Water.
For a while Cabrera was known more for being Ashlee Simpson's boyfriend than for his music (due to his appearances on Simpson's reality TV show), but all that has changed. Cabrera stands on his own as a talented performer. The Moon Under Water is more of an artist centered record than the Texas native's first two albums. The singer seems to be writing more for himself these days, and not necessarily for a targeted audience.
Anyone who hasn't caught up with Cabrera since his second album dropped will notice a new look and a more focused sound. Gone is the pretty boy haircut, clean shaven face, and lightweight songs, in their place is longer hair, a mustache and goatee, and mature material that reaches beyond pretty-boy pop. Whether he's hanging by an emotional thread, on the emo-esque "In Between Lights," or ending a relationship, on the earnest "I Will Remember You," Cabrera keeps it real.
It sounds like Cabrera and his co-writers (who mysteriously go uncredited here) spent time flipping through their fathers' old record collections during the making of the album. Sound wise, the disc leans heavily toward the 1970s and '80s. The repetitive and highly contagious "Say" has a Duran Duran feel to it, while the meandering "Rise (The Dog Barks)" has shades of The Velvet Underground. "Sit Back, Relax" could be an outtake from an early Cure album. Cabrera blares like Cure frontman Robert Smith on the song's hypnotic chorus.
"How Bout Tonite" digs even farther back than the 1970s. Cabrera borrows the melody from the Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and twists it into a psychedelic love song with artful lyrics. "With your hand in my pocket, we'll take down the sun/ And we'll lay where the hills hide/ On your old trampoline," Cabrera sings.
As a singer and a songwriter, Cabrera has grown immensely in the last few years. The Moon Under Water is a bold statement from a performer who seems to have found his artistic voice.
By Todd Sterling
