Music Review: Teddy Geiger "These Walls"

Teddy Geiger

These Walls

Album: Underage Thinking

Year: 2006

             Teddy Geiger feels confined by his shyness in the willful “These Walls.”

             A purposeful piano opens the single, setting a hopeful tone.  The sleeve of his shirt is soaked. His face and bangs are wet. He gets up from the floor and gets a tissue. He realized that no one really knows him. No one knows how he feels. It’s all his fault and no one else’s. He has to know that there are other people like him dealing with being alone. (“I can't believe what is in front of me/The water's rising up to my knees/And I can't figure out/How the hell I wound up here/Everything seemed okay when I started out the other day/Then the rain came pouring down/And now I'm drowning in my fears/And as I watch the setting sun/I wonder if I'm the only one.”)

        In the chorus, he knows now he has to speak up for himself. He has to take risks. Otherwise, he’ll spend his life with regrets. (“Cause everybody tries to put some love on the line/And everybody feels a broken heart sometimes/And even when I'm scared I have to try to fly/Sometimes I fall/But I've seen it done before/I gotta step outside these walls.”)

          He isn’t sure how to become outgoing. He wants a relationship and a great job. However, other people would try to keep him hidden if he even dared to come out of his shell. He hopes he’s able to handle everything that will come his way. (“I've got no master plan to help me out/Or make me stand up for/All the things that I really want/You had me too afraid to ask/And as I look ahead of me/I cry and pray for sanity.”)

             The chorus is sung again.

              In the bridge, he says his inability to let people in will eventually be his downfall. (“These walls can't be my haven/These walls can't keep me safe here/And now I guess I gotta let them down.”)

               An extended chorus ends the single. He wishes he would’ve woken up sooner. He has to believe things will get better. (“Cause everybody tries to put some love on the line…but I've seen it done before/I got to break out/I got to break out/I got to step outside these walls/Love outside these walls/I feel my heart breaking/But it's a brand new day/I'm going down/I'm stepping out/I'm stepping outside/These walls/I've seen it done before/ I’m walking on, I’ll walk on, I’m moving on.”)

             Geiger’s familiar vocals copy John Mayer. The only difference is that Geiger’s has some heft to them. Nonetheless, they aren’t at all distinctive.

             The adamant “These Walls” won’t let its real self shine through.