Got this this morning, the bio was pretty sparse – something like “after a myspace ban and some critically EPs and something that Hot Press liked, here is the album“. Having noted with glee the absence of the usual words “simply the best live band this year” and “mindblowing” (can we knock that off now please?) – I decided to give this the benefit of the doubt and stick it on. And I’m glad I did to be honest, it’s pretty bloody good.
Daniel Jones is obviously just some guy with songs about whatever…some bird I suppose, or the government probably. There’s no angle and really, it’s nothing new whatsoever. But his voice is genuinely musical and pleasing to listen to. Hey that’s the bottom line right?! It’s just really good, it’s kind of got a dry drawl that teeters on affected but ends up getting away with it. The album has some great, simple musical ideas and memorable passages (“Bouquet”) – but by far the most charming part of this is the unpretentious delivery, a slack-jawed grungy rawness hanging delicately between ‘couldn’t-be-arsed cool’ and ‘couldn’t be-tuned guitar’. Unfortunately suffers from bedroom-album syndrome whereby some of the cheaply (presumably) home-recorded instruments stick out and lower the tone, most notably the distorted guitar and some of the levels. Still definitely worth checking out though, the songs are there for sure.
For fans of:
Neil Young
Jesus & Mary Chain
