<rss version='0.91'><channel><title>JackDaw4 - Bipolar Diversions</title><link>http://www.notlame.com/CDJACKDAW41.html</link><description>JackDaw4 - Bipolar Diversions</description><item><title>JackDaw4 - Bipolar Diversions</title><description>Okay, hold me to it. 2007 is almost done but this one, along side Field Music's &quot;Tones On Town&quot;, strongest power pop release you'll hear this year.  It's been 4 years in the making and every single note counts and just NAILS it.  Soundbites and more information coming soon - as well as stock as this one is not in stock yet - but rest assured, FREAKING AWESOME!  Seriously, I don’t see this lightly – but serious fans of Jellyfish are just not going to be disappointed.  There’s tidbits of other faves like 10cc, The Grays, City Boy, Toy Matinee, Queen,  later-era XTC(listen to song #3 below) and Bleu but it’s really their own sound and it’s timeless power pop that is just uncommonly special.   &lt;p&gt;  &quot;Their aptly titled new album sees virtually every song characterized by abrupt chord, tempo, and stylistic changes which reflect various moods.  However, the most salient quality of the album are the rather striking structures, strongly reminscent of 'Spilt Milk' by Jellyfish, as well as '70s pop/prog in general.  Top notch singing, playing, and songwriting all the way, with a bit of a sense of humor at times!&quot;- David Bash - International Pop Overthrow.  &lt;p&gt;  &quot;OK, now things are getting serious. There have been a lot of outstanding
discs this year, but it's been more depth of quality rather than peaks of
quality. In other words, many of the discs that were in my top 20 or so for
this year to date would have had a hard time cracking the top 20 of 2005 or
2006. But Bioplar Diversions, the sophomore effort from London's Jackdaw4,
should have no problem cracking any year's power pop top 20 or better.

There was a lot of buzz over their first disc, 2004's Gramophone Logic, but
I found it a bit inconsistent; here, they reach their full potential with
the best Jellyfish-influenced disc since Checkpoint Charley &amp; Sparkwood
cracked my 2005 Top 20. They knock it right out of park with &quot;SOOMA (All
This Vision)&quot; in which they display a gift for both melody and humor (SOOMA
stands for Shines out of My Ass, as in &quot;the sun&quot;) along with a nod to Queen.
&quot;Frobisher's Last Stand&quot; marries the Jellyfish sound with that of Doug
Powell; &quot;Jesus Wants My Soul Back&quot; smacks of music hall McCartney; the title
track lives up to its title, with a manic first half followed by a
&quot;depressive&quot; and mellow orchestral second half; and &quot;My Little Gangsta&quot; goes
for a more glam sound and reminds me of the Class Three Overbite disc. But
that's just the first half of the disc. The second half is just as good,
especially &quot;Illuminati&quot;, which will have you swearing that Sturmer, Falkner,
Manning &amp; Co. really have reunited under a different name.

Many recent bands have tried to make a &quot;Jellyfish record&quot;, but have only
succeeded with a track or two or three. Jackdaw4 have truly done it here,
creating a record that is more than the sum of its parts or its influences.
It's kind of ironic that Andy Sturmer was the driving force behind LEO, as
Alpacas Orgling was a pitch-perfect homage to ELO that stood on its own as a
great album, and here we have Jellyfish essentially receiving the same
treatment.&quot;-AbsolutePowerPopBlog.  No question, one of 2007 Top 3 releases, no doubts, only complete joy!  &lt;p&gt;

&lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4105.mp3&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.notlame.com/images/ear.jpg&quot; width=&quot;20&quot; border=0 alt=&quot;power pop, independent music&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4105.mp3&quot;&gt;Song #1&lt;/a&gt; - mp3&lt;p&gt;

&lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4108.mp3&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.notlame.com/images/ear.jpg&quot; width=&quot;20&quot; border=0 alt=&quot;power pop, independent music&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4108.mp3&quot;&gt;Song #2&lt;/a&gt; - mp3&lt;p&gt;

&lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4101.mp3&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.notlame.com/images/ear.jpg&quot; width=&quot;20&quot; border=0 alt=&quot;power pop, independent music&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4101.mp3&quot;&gt;Song #3&lt;/a&gt; - mp3&lt;p&gt;

&lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4102.mp3&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.notlame.com/images/ear.jpg&quot; width=&quot;20&quot; border=0 alt=&quot;power pop, independent music&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4102.mp3&quot;&gt;Song #4&lt;/a&gt; - mp3&lt;p&gt;

&lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4106.mp3&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.notlame.com/images/ear.jpg&quot; width=&quot;20&quot; border=0 alt=&quot;power pop, independent music&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4106.mp3&quot;&gt;Song #5&lt;/a&gt; - mp3&lt;p&gt;

&lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4109.mp3&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.notlame.com/images/ear.jpg&quot; width=&quot;20&quot; border=0 alt=&quot;power pop, independent music&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://audio.notlame.com/sounds07/cdjackdaw4109.mp3&quot;&gt;Song #6&lt;/a&gt; - mp3</description><link>http://www.notlame.com/JackDaw4/Page_1/CDJACKDAW41.html</link></item></channel></rss>