It suddenly occurred to me the other day that a new wave of supposed folk music has hit the mainstream once again. But this time it's not saturated with nearly as many musicians concerned with the state of the world; instead, most of these acoustic guitar heavy one-man-bands sing about lost love and the state of their hearts.

Hailing from Portland, Ore., musician Chris Robley is another one of these pseudo-Folk Rock crooners churning out eclectic instrumental styles over self-conscious lyrics. Robley's sophomore release, The Drunken Dance of Modern Man in Love, certainly follows that same vein, but does so with a lyrical style leaning on nuance and social awareness. At first listen, he sounds like another Elliott Smith clone--"Culture Jammer" kicks the album off with a vocal style with an uncanny resemblance to Smith's later career--but underneath the surface, Robley shows a multi-layered arsenal of musical influences and and stylistic techniques.

Unlike some of his counterparts, Robley knows how to write great songs that are both musically well-written and lyrically intelligent. Robley's not afraid to use his full set of tricks, mixing horns, banjo, strings and anything else he can get his hands on. In songs like "Prelude/Primer," "Gaslight Girl," and "388 Hate House," Robley uses beautiful onstrumental tracks to transition the album from one part to the next, showing the focus is primarily on the music.

From the intro of The Drunken Dance of Modern Man in Love, it's clear that Robley's not going to be just another acoustic rocker (à la James Blunt). His mature sound brings in so many different musical influences; it's hard to summarize them all. The upbeat "Culture Jammer" certainly takes from Elliott Smith, but also shows influences such as Nick Drake and John Lennon. It seems it's the latter that has a large influence on Robley; songs like "Centaurea, Centaurea" conjure the musical and lyrical spirits of Lennon as Robley sings about war: "Darkness spreads over the land...nature means nothing to man."