It’s not like there is a shortage of male singer songwriters with a purpose in their mind and a handful of songs in their back pocket as proof that they have what it takes to make their mark in this world of mediocrity. One more for the B-list, I hear you say, or is there more to David Blackbourn?
Quite possibly for, although there are but five songs on “Impulses”, there is more than enough musical evidence to suggest that our Mr Blackbourn is serious in his intents. There is a certain bleakness to his words as if he has seen the upside of down once too often but it is always his commercial instincts that triumph in the end. The sentiments underlying “Keep Smiling”, for example, would seem likely to balance you on the edge of the abyss yet the song itself remains inherently hummable. The dead or depressed don’t buy things from iTunes, after all.
Likewise, “Wide Awake” could easily be mistaken for a protest song lost out of its time but it nonetheless possesses a certain hypnotic charm as if the message itself was the melody and that’s a sign of talent.
Though his reach sometimes exceeds his grasp, David Blackbourn clearly has the intelligence, and heart, to remain true to his intentions.