Overtones – Just Jack

Year Released: 2007

Label: Mercury

Year Bought: 2010

If any of you remember Just Jack, it's probably for his 2007 hit 'Starz In Their Eyes', which hit number 2 in the charts. A song about the dark side of tv talent shows. Very 00s.

Indeed, that would probably be where my knowledge of him would have ended had he not played my university's summer party that year. Backed by a full live band, Jack (full name Jack Allsop) delivered a great set of house-inflected tunes which supported his Streets-esque musings on life, the universe and everything.

Clearly desperately seeking my approval, he popped up again a few weeks later at a free gig in Nottingham city centre, and again I found myself dancing along.

I downloaded some random songs by him at the time, but didn't get this album – his second release – until about 2010.

It's a mixed bag, but when it works, it really does take off. The album feels like it's divided into two main themes – optimism and paranoia.

Opener 'Writer's Block' is great piece of down-on-your-luck pondering, while 'I Talk Too Much' and the 70s disco infused 'No Time' are brilliant ruminations on relationships. 'Life Stories' tries to look on the bright side of life, while acoustic ballad 'Mourning Morning' is a really beautiful tune, with some literal kitchen sink lyrics Billy Bragg would be proud of:

I pick my way through crusty dishes

And their greasy chemistry

I washed two cups and then remember

That you've left already

'Starz In Their Eyes' still sounds great to me, but that might be because it's laced with so much nostalgia. Just hearing it evokes a taste of vodka Red Bull in my mouth, and I feel like I'm in a student nightclub, bumping into people on a sticky dance floor.

Not all the album works. 'Glory Days' is just a bit too twee, and 'Lost' isn't as powerful as it wants to be.

But there's more to like than not on here, and if you only know his big hit, you should definitely check it out.

7/10

Comments

Eye To The Telescope – KT Tunstall

Year Released: 2004 Label: Relentless Year Bought: No Idea I'm not sure why I have this record. I have no record of buying it. I've never listened to it. But then I do own two Dido albums so it's not exactly out of character of me to have it. I've always thought KT Tunstall was a pretty cool person. She's clearly talented. But this album, I just can't really connect with it. There's some good tunes on here. 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree' is great, as is 'Suddenly I See'. 'Another Place To Fall' hints at some darker tones, and 'Under The Weather' builds nicely. But overall it's just all a bit safe. I vaguely remember reading an interview with Tunstall a few years after this came out in which she said the original mix was a lot more rough and bluesy, but the label wanted it more polished. You can definitely hear how this album could have been scuffed up. 'Stopping The Love' is a good example of that. It's a mi...

Coming Up – Suede

Year Released: 1996 Label: Nude Year Bought: 2011 I know lots of people love this album, and it has got some great songs on it, but I just can't love it. It's too trebly, too thin, too cold. It kicks off with 'Trash', which is an absolutely brilliant tune with fantastic lyrics. Brett is at his absolute best here, with talk of "nowhere towns" and "cellophane sounds", and being the "litter on the breeze". I love it. But, alas we go from one of Suede's best songs to one of their worst. 'Filmstar' feels incredibly lazy. The riff is nothing, and as for the lyrics: Filmstar propping up the bar driving in a car it looks so easy Filmstar propping up the bar driving in a car tonight These are Noel Gallagher-on-an-incredibly-bad-day lyrics. I hate the riff, I hate the chorus, I hate the lyrics. I hate how shiny it is. It's lazy ... which is the title of the next song. This tune sees the first use on the album of the "here the...

Intimacy – Bloc Party

Year Released: 2008 Label: Wichita Year Bought: 2008 Bloc Party's first two albums were absolute mainstays of my uni years, but their third, 2008's 'Intimacy', didn't touch the sides. All I remember of this album is that they were trying to be nu-rave and the beginning bit of 'Mercury'. Listening to this album for the first time in 16 years, I can see why I didn't get on with it at the time. It's a dense, loud album, with hardly any room in the songs for air. The drums – and drum machines – are all very in-your-face so it is a struggle to really sit and actually listen to. The use of electronic drums is one of the main departures from Bloc Party's previous efforts, which for me is a real shame. One of the strengths of the group was that Matt Tong was a one-man drum machine, and using actual drum machines just feels like a step backwards. Opening song 'Ares' kicks things off with a searing guitar and huge drums that sound like something...

All The Records I've Ever Owned

Search This Blog