From the UK, It`s not too often a debut arrives that sounds so mature, artistically evolved, intelligent and freshly striking. Jackdaw4 is one such rarity and, simply, this is one to follow along carefully. It`s an incredible mixture of a rich, deep pool of high-brow influences----many extremely hard to pull off---songcraft wise, production-wise, performance-wise. But consider it accomplished, right here, right now. This is mini-masterpiece--a word we don`t use that often here, despite our tendency to hyperbole(hey, we`re *into* this stuff!). Jellyfish(most definitely), The Wondermints(lots!!), 10cc, XTC, Split Enz. Go ahead...we`ll add some ELO, classic Squeeze and Queen, in there too. Some of these we`ll mention fairly often here, but each song presents compelling, humdinger of a college course on `how to make a fresh and cool pop album without sounding pretentious`. "Gramophone Logic finds Willie and friends deep in classic-pop territory, trailing the likes of Wilson, Lennon and McCartney. Sure, those are mighty big names to be bandying about but, when I hear a pop record as rich, melodic, layered, addictive and, well, charming as this, it`s difficult to avoid dropping them. I hope that by using such overworked comparisons, I`m not making it sound like Just Another Power Pop Album with jangly guitars and big choruses because, to these ears (and I should point out that these are particularly jaded ears), Jackdaw4 have fashioned some of the brightest-sounding pop symphonies this side of Jellyfish`s Spilt Milk. And, like the `Fish, they`ve managed to transcend their influences, creating an album that nods at their record collections while sounding pleasingly fresh and in thrall to nothing more specific than great songwriting and arranging. That is both an art and a gift... n artistic success and a grand,
eclectic, widescreen, future-proof pop record."-Scuzz.com. "From the
opening chords of "This Is Your Life", its quite evident that "Gramophone Logic" is something special. Songs like "The Day I Wrote The Book" and "Karaoke Ballet" ring with complex harmonies and carnival sounds that fans of Jellyfish and The Beach Boys will immediately embrace. "King For A Day" and "Everything I See" offer a more modern, harder-edge sound complete with awesome hooks and more killer vocals. For fans of great Power Pop, Jackdaw4 is a must-have!"-Whitsbrain.com. "Holy freole Batman! This is the kind of CD that can bring this grown man to drool. Equal parts of Jellyfish, Queen and ELO, spun through a modern hard rock mix has me crying tears of ecstasy. OK, a little over the top? Well, this CD is really *that* good."-Kurt`sKrap.com. Trust us on this one, okay? Seriously. If we had caught this one in December 2004 when it came out, we`d have this in our Top 10 for the year, no question. Big Time Extremely Highly Recommended, over and out.
 Listen - mp3
Listen - mp3
Listen - mp3
Listen - mp3
Listen - mp3 |
