"All Just Treading Water"

Reviews of Said The Whale, Jenn Grant & Shotgun Jimmie

Due to the fact that I've received an insanely unmanageable amount of CD's to listen to and possibly review over the last few months, I figured that it was about time that I let you know a bit about some of the music that has entered my tympanic membrane over the last little while.

Said The Whale : Howe Sounds / Taking Abalonia

Although I've never claimed to be the quickest music review type guy on the planet, I'll have to admit that taking nearly a year to listen to this Vancouver band's debut full length is pretty slow, even with my track record. Thankfully, it took me significantly less time to enjoy it. At fifteen tracks, the album is a bit lengthy and all over the place, but for the most part, this is a good thing. Some of the songs are immediately hooky and accessible, such as the Erlend Øye meets Built To Spill vibe of The City's A Mess, or the playfully handclappy The Light Is You. They show a flare for the dramatic in Last Tree Standing as well as the slow almost waltz of Better For You. Fans of The Shins are certain to like Live Off Lamb, were the vocal similarity to Mr. Mercer is uncanny. But for me, the clear standout is My Government Heart which is the James Bond theme that 10CC never got around to recording. Having covered so much ground on the debut, one has to wonder what they're going to try for the sophomore.

Photo by Jonathan Taggart
Myspace: Said The Whale
Video: This Winter I Retire on youtube
Video: The Light Is You on youtube
Download: The City Is A Mess mp3


Jenn Grant : Echoes

There's no shortage of blog love for Jenn Grant these days, and although I thought that 2007's Orchestra For The Moon was a decent, yet fairly mundane album, I have to say that Echoes is achingly beautiful. She seems to have found her voice on this one as it meanders through a lushly produced collection that showcases a variety of different styles. As Long As I Have You is gorgeous, where her reserved vocals are accompanied by stirring harmonies and a mesmerizing string section. Parachutes begins as a mellow folksy number before it jauntily prances along to an uplifting Phil Spector-ish apex. I Was Your Woman really showcases the jazzier side of her vocal abilities, and I found it hard not to repeat this song a couple of times. The harmonies in (I've Got) The Two Of You harks back to another era, one of radio actresses and retro 40's commercial jingles. And her cover of Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart adds an extra layer of melancholy that actually manages to out-sad the original.

Myspace: Jenn Grant
Video: Heartbreaker live @ The Verge on youtube
Video: Dreamer (from Orchestra For The Moon) on youtube

Shotgun Jimmie : Still Jimmie

I really didn't know much about Shotgun Jimmie (aka Jim Killpatrick) prior to listening to this album, but I'm enjoying Still Jimmie so much that I'm looking forward to investigating his back catalog. The album will be officially released on March 10th, and although the first few songs remind me of some of the roots rock and alt-country offered to us by the likes of Scott McCaughey, the rest of the album is totally Pavement inspired which is, of course, a VERY good thing. The feel of the album can be summed up nicely in the opening lyrics to Waist Deep In The Water where Jimmie sings "I like rock 'n roll. Somehow it just soothes my soul, even though I heard it all before." The majority of songs are full out rockers, which work very well with Jimmie's raunchy off kilter vocal delivery. Mellower numbers like Dawson City and Valentines Day are delivered with an unforced smirky coolness, while Quicksand introduces a female vocalist that manages to do much the same, to great effect. The album ends with my favourite song called Treadwater, where he sings of frustration with the music industry whilst accompanied by a jaunty little melody.

Myspace: Shotgun Jimmie
Video: Shotgun Jimmie with Attack In Black live @ Criminal Records on youtube
Video: Several promo videos for Still Jimmie are also on youtube
Download: Mind Crumb mp3