Album Review : Jack Penate - After You

Almost just over 10 years since Jack Penate gifted us with the critically acclaimed ‘Everything Is New’ and 12 years since fidgeting debut ‘Matinee’ he returns to the musical fold with ‘After You’. For 10 whole years most Jack Penate fans have waited with baited breath, some noticeably teased when Jack surfaced in the mid 10’s but to no avail disappearing once again into the ether. It’s said that Jack Penate made an album for every year that he was away, and each individual track from the ‘After You’ album is to represent those, apparently he’d lost a whole album to a fire and has matured with a terrible misfortune, grown alone and arrived at this extraordinary third album. 

When the news spread that Jack Penate was going to be Annie Mac's hottest record on radio one, social media pretty much imploded on itself, some cryptic instagram story posting followed then when the time came we got ‘Prayer’ a stripped back, raw and heartfelt dive into where Jack Penate had been. ‘Prayer’ takes us all the way back to first album ‘Matinee’ and the simple yet extremely effectively written ‘My Yvonne’ which featured none other than world beating but then relatively unknown Adele. A low sliding guitar backed with a gospel choir isn’t something we’d ever expected but there we were, all waiting for what could follow, some might say praying for this album. 

‘After You’ doesn’t rip roar it’s way from the first track, it doesn’t shoot from the paddock as we are lead into ‘Loaded Gun’ for what seems like a nod to everything Jack Penate wishes he was or is to become, the opening line of ‘I want to world to know my name’ links me back to the Mystery Jets album ‘Radlands’ and song ‘Someone Purer’, the twinkling slow jaunt and strum of the acoustic guitar is absolute haunting perfection, a totally refreshing restart. Things now pick up speed with ‘Round and Round’ a three wheeling spinner with an eastern influence, a truly significant addictive beat and the layered vocals we come to expect from Jack Penate, lyrically even three tracks in it is well highlighted that Jack Penate is wearing his heart on his sleeve with ‘After You’ committing clear guileless maturity. 

We drop once more into murky depths with ‘Cipralex’ this song peregrinates through a fog that in the modern day a majority of individuals struggle with, this song represents every dark feeling people will feel during a depressed stage, but also it identifies the fake highs of ‘Cipralex’ itself. We could never have expected a man of Jack Penates talent to not struggle with a demon that lingers above. it’s written from the heart and experience, what seems like a continuing reminder that you can hit the bottom, but you can bounce right back up again. While we are in the murky depths, bouncing right back up again seems to be trend and ‘Murder’ becomes just that, once again we throwback to Jack Penate of the past with touches of ‘Every Glance’ which featured on the ‘Everything Is New’ album. There is no doubt that ‘Murder’ is to become the consummate dance floor filler of ‘After You’ it’s a foot tapping, hand clapping total stamping certified banger from top to bottom, yeah. 

You really feel while listening to ‘After You’ that you are in it, that you are among all of these feelings and emotions or in some way you can attach yourself to the 10 or so years that Jack Penate has been away, lost to the music industry but living his life. ‘Gemini’ is a melody that had been stuck with Penate for a long while then mastered on an old piano he found in the street, the poem written by his grandfather Mervyn Peake while his uncle recites the words themselves. Everything is once again on the table with ‘Let Me Believe’ as Jack Penate opens the door to his creative psyche, while he takes a figurative shotgun to it and blows it across the ceiling. Emotionally impelled, ‘Let Me Believe’ is Jack Penates swan song to himself, an ode to the journey that bought him and us to this album, another reminder. 

Backed by a beat that is prominent from start to finish ‘GMT’  is a hip-hop jazz infused tableau, something that has me wanting to dig out my Mr Hudson & The Library album ‘A Tale Of Two Cities’ and give it another little spin for good measure. It’s got that piano chord progression feeling from Jay Z’s ‘Dead Presidents’ alongside a pure raw vocal, a great track among the 10 but easily lost to some of the more emotionally charged. Effortlessly prominent on ‘After You’ is the ethic that everything has been stripped back to a less is more kind of attitude, lots of Jack Penate doing what he felt was right for him ‘Ancient Skin’ would be another one of those tracks that he was able to take it back to basics, see the absolute bottom of what love was suppose to be lyrically yet here he would be trying to make sense of it all with just words and his feelings. As we move into the end game ‘Swept To The Sky’ was the beginning of the end of ‘After You’ hearing something with a clear reflection hitting that half way mark of the song and it grabs you right in the middle of your body and lifts you, a bit like ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’ by Coldplay but a lot slower and thought provoking. 

What can I tell you about ‘After You’, I can tell you that it is emotionally engaging, thought provoking and at times draining. For the pinnacles we reach within ‘Murder’ and ‘Round And Round’ we also feel the nadir within ‘Loaded Gun’ and ‘Cipralex’. Jack Penate is a man that has spent the last 10 years ageing, maturing, having his heart broken and rebuilding himself from the bottom up and ‘After You’ is the product of that. 

(Images courtesy of TomLangfordPhotography)

Album Review : The Enemy - Streets In The Sky

The indie blogroll of bands from the noughties is particularly full of now folklore legends,  bands like The Fratellis who are now defunct but can continually be heard on every indie dance floor across the land,  The View who have endlessly teetered on the edge of separation and now totally new band Razorlight of whom the lead singer self-imploded and sacked the backline.

But a indie band to survive the noughties is leading the renascence, 2 top 10 albums under their belts, numerous festival appearances and a whole list of critical acclaim is left in their wake. The Enemy.

Back in 2007 they released storming first album ‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’, it was a bovine, valiant and confident debut written on the bog standard level of the average male/female who wanted more, a call to arms. The album went straight in at number 1 in the UK charts alongside tracks ‘Away From Here’(#8) and ‘Had Enough’(#4) standing up in the top10. This lead to the band receiving awards from NME, Q Magazine and XFM that same year.

After the storm died down The Enemy took to the studio to write second album ‘Music  For The People’, which charted at number 2 in the UK album charts. An album heavily influenced and sounding like every big indie band of the decades past. Think The Clash, Pulp, Blur, Queen…And you get the picture. It seemed like The Enemy had been plucked up and were heading to the indie scrap yard, casualties of ‘the second album curse’.

Around 4 years of silence followed, Tom Clarke planning world domination once more VIA ’boring’ Coventry with band mates in toe. It was then out of nothing an announcement was made by Clarke that the release of ‘Streets In The Sky’ was to hit shelves in the spring of 2012.

What to expect from ‘Streets In The Sky’ after such a disappointing second return is quickly diminished, opening track and album teaser ‘Gimme The Sign’ is brash and full of promise. The lairy vocals of first album Clarke, guitar firmly in hand and more than certainly meaning business.  No time to think between tracks ‘Bigger Cages (Longer Chains)’ boasts a Subways like guitar lead, lyrically once again Clarke is levelled going from what felt plaint in ’Music For The People’ to something so much more indurate for ‘Streets In The Sky’.

Sing-a-long third track ‘Saturday’ is built for football stands and Saturday afternoons, a song made to play on iPods across the world to then imbed in the brain and drive you until you repeat. Only 4 tracks in ‘1-2-3-4’ teases and prods in a modern life in rubbish type manner, pointing the finger at the 9 to 5. Seamlessly asking ‘Why settle for second best?’. ‘Like A Dancer’ settles the heart rate but not the beat becoming the ‘Technodanceaphobic’ of the album.

‘Come Into My World’ furnishes the gap between start and finish of the 12 track release followed by album anthem ‘This Is Real’, another stand on the soapbox for The Enemy. Narrate the feeling of waking up on Sunday morning after painting a town all the colours you can think of, ploughing through the working week with every conscious thought aiming towards the clock out on Friday evening, ‘This Is Real’ is that track.

Sentimental feelings emerge through ‘2 Kids’, a acoustic laden 4 minutes depicting the story of best friends through school and work, how they will never grow up but know the times had will never return. ‘Turn It On’ growls in the aftermath of ‘2 Kids’, taking the adult approach to first album hit ‘Away From Here’ listen really hard and you can hear the same bass riff. A clear two fingers to everything ‘It’s A Race’ is crossed between punk and pop with added catchy chorus.

Penultimate track ‘Get Up And Dance’ has a feel about the 90s to it, Birmingham’s very own Ocean Colour Scene can be proud of the guitar work beside a Queen type drum beat. Think ‘Under Pressure’ meeting ‘Hundred Mile High City’. Ending track ‘Make A Man’ takes us back to track number 1, with the pace of ‘Gimme The Sign’ the sing-a-long chorus of ‘Saturday’ and catchy lyrics of ‘Like A Dancer’.

The Enemy have returned to what we once knew, and personally I cannot be more thankful. Social commentary, sentimental feeling and a fuck load of attitude. ’Streets In The Sky’ is one album I think will happily repeat itself a fair few times from start to finish.

Album Review : The Cribs - In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull

The brothers Jarman are Wakefields best export, alongside Claire Cooper (Jackie McQueen in Hollyoaks), Jane McDonald (You know, the one off loose women?) and party music legends Black Lace (Agadoo do do and all that). For a temporary time a member of The Smiths played in their band and they were championed by Steve Lamacq from the word go.

Tipped in the early years as ‘the UK’s answer to The Strokes’ The Cribs attracted attention from numerous major record labels, with warehouse parties and a number of split 7‘ with other bands. They eventually decided to sign with Wichita Recordings.
 In 2004 they headed to London to record first album ‘The Cribs’ which included fan favourite ‘Another Number’ ‘You Were Always The One’ (#66) and ‘What About Me’(#75) with NME dubbing  “These songs will soundtrack every festival, every drunken snog and every intoxicated shimmy“ together with an 8/10 rating.

The summer season of festivals approached and left subsequently leading the band back into the studio, though The Cribs aren’t just any band. Deciding against shutting up shop to record next album ‘The New Fellas’ and they took themselves on the road posting online to play shows for beer and fuel. This approach has been lauded in helping make the band who they are today. ‘The New Fellas’ was recorded with singer-songwriter Edwyn Collins, who said whilst recording that “they were proper indie; everything done on a shoe-string. they were tremendous!”.

‘Hey Scenesters!’ lead as the first release from ‘The New Fellas’ paving the way for the album the go on and sell silver (250,000 records) and becoming an ‘Album of the decade’ as voted by Q magazine readers. In the aftermath of the release of ‘The New Fellas’ The Cribs went on to sign with Warner Bros but continued their affiliation with Wichita Recordings in the UK.

Pushing lo-fi to the side ‘Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs…Whatever’ took The Cribs to Canada for recording with Franz Ferdinand front man Alex Kapranos, whom they met and hit off with while touring with Death Cab For Cutie in the US. First release from the album ‘Men’s Needs’ reached #17 in the UK and was the bands biggest hit to date with the album coinciding entering at #13. Other released from the album were ‘Moving Pictures’ (#38) and double A side album opener ‘Our Bovine Public/Don’t you wanna be relevant?’. ‘I’m A Realist’ was also released on vinyl.

Joined by Johnny Marr after a long extensive summer of festival performances, the band took to LA and to recording ‘Ignore The Ignorant’. Widely regarded as the bands most successful album to date it  peaked at #8 in the UK album charts with single ‘Cheat On Me’ reaching #80. The band then appeared at Reading & Leeds festivals respectively where Johnny Marr was to play his last shows with the band and commit himself to solo work once again. Along with the departure of Marr, The Cribs announced in that they were aiming to release their next album in May 2012.

Feedback ensues throughout the first few bars of ‘In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’ and first track ‘Glitters Like Gold’, which has a boorish lyrical approach ‘It's a straight/like a friend/then you can be what you want/good’ monotone vocal with clattering guitars. Single release ‘Come On, Be A No-One’ then takes full control from what felt like a spiralling opener, the ever present Cribs charm turns to 11 and you fall into the indie abyss.

‘Jaded Youth’ feels post-’New Fellas’, lo-fi and rough. What feels the actions of  a drunken Friday night. a courageous, fist throwing anthem spewing out past tense. A desperate romance follows with ‘Anna’ it’s heart felt and open, it’s feeling every string that females pull unknowingly on young men across the country and beyond, it’s everything that The Cribs are, Sinister and explicit yet sentient and acquaint.

We go deeper with ’Confident Men’, a self indulgent 3 minutes of a lonesome view through the pint glass, mirrored by an empty bar. Everything that whirls through you’re mind while you are alone, or surrounded and hopeless. We tread indulgence once more through ’Uptight’ which could attach itself to the story of earlier track ’Anna’. What is most notable on the album is lyrically, The Cribs seem to have found heart. Romanticism is ripe yet drowned destitution.

Hype track ‘Chi-Town’ brings us back to the brink of The Cribs, the obvious attitude surrounded by the right amount of boisterousness. A track that was played 3 times by Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe which had the band and track name trending worldwide. Levelling out the playing field once again ’Pure O’ feels like a filler, the 2 cans you drink between the house you leave and the house you arrive at before a big night out. That big night out comes in the form of ’Back To The Bolthole’, the obvious swan song of ’In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’. Imagine instead of initially smashing up the china shop, we browse and discuss our surroundings before the inevitable implosion and ‘Back To The Bolthole’ is just that. A clear 5 minutes of build and destroy.

Back to falling down the rabbit hole with acoustic ‘I should have helped’, a Jarman shaped confession, fathomed and misplaced among the more Indie-Punk driven tracks. ‘Stalagmites’ follows on from ‘Back To The Bolthole’ and it’s brazen assault adding the lo-fi of ‘Jaded Youth’ with a sprinkle of radio feedback. The emotional rollercoaster rolls on with ‘Butterflies’ which has a similar sound to The Cure, a ‘Boys don’t cry’ type acoustic guitar accompanies a gentle synth and Jarman vocal with xylophone breakdown. ‘Arena Rock Encore With Full Cast’ breaks out of the end of ‘butterflies’ with a choir of the Jarman brothers, what seems like apologising.

Most bands don’t reach the recording of 5 consecutive albums, most bands don’t manage to crack the American music charts, most bands aren’t The Cribs. ‘In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’ is animalistic, strong and mature, a musical force to be reckoned with.

The brothers Jarman are Wakefield’s best export…