Troy Horne might seem like he's ready to take on Montell Jordan and Luther Vandross, from the pose he shows on the cover of his self-titled debut CD. But make no mistake: this young man follows the path of alternative rock. And while Troy Horne shows he still has a journey ahead of him, there are some absolutely fabulous moments on this disc.

Oh, there's no doubt that Horne has a set of pipes that could shake the rafters. But Troy Horne is more than just an alternative album; it's a declaration of independence from what you might expect from an artist so young (Horne is only in his mid-20s). And maybe that's where I was a little disappointed in this disc; maybe I set the bar too high in my mind - so high that any artist might have difficulty clearing it.

This isn't to say that Horne can't soar like the eagles at times. A three-song masterpiece kicks off with "Conversation," and leads into easily the album's best song, "Sweater," which shows Horne's talents (both vocal and songwriting) in the brightest light possible. This song is nothing short of brilliant, and to follow it up with a moving track like "Rain" was a swift move.

And this all isn't to say that the remainder of Troy Horne doesn't have anything noteworthy. Tracks like "This Man's Pride" also stand out among the best, and others such as "Man's Eyes" and "Inner Sea" also have their moments.

But Troy Horne has two hurdles the album has difficulty clearing. The first is a slow, unsteady start with tracks like "Kissing Ground," "Change" and "Rainbow". These songs just don't have the kind of creative fire that would propel other aspects of this disc, and it takes the listener a long time to be able to get into what Horne is doing musically.

The second aspect is one which will only be corrected over time - and that's musical uncertainty. Often, it doesn't quite seem like Horne knows what he wants to be accomplishing in his music, or it seems like he's not sure which musical style he wants to be following with a particular song. But Horne is still a young man, and such wisdom comes only with time logged in the studio and on the stage. I'm sure he will soon be able to overcome this small speed bump.

Troy Horne is a portrait of the artist as a young man, and it shows that Horne has many good qualities regarding his music. He just hasn't developed into a full-blown artist yet... though something tells me this is a facet which will change in the not-too-distant future.

Rating: C+

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