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)

Live Review - The Pigeon Detectives at The Wedgewood Rooms

 The Wedgewood Rooms to me is like my second home, and last night (Saturday 11^th May) it was made quite aware to me that it also holds a special kind of place in a certain indie bands heart. Since forming 2004 Yorkshires very own Pigeon Detectives have played the venue 5 times, I've attended at least 3 of those, and every time the band has got more tight, performing harder and stronger than the last.

So, 10 years and 4 albums later The Pigeon Detectives return to Portsmouth, an air of anticipation is in the air, we all knew what was coming and it was clear from the off that everyone was prepared for the inevitable. The Portsmouth date was the final furlong of 15 on the ‘We Met At Sea’ tour, and it was going off with a bang, by the seaside.

As the venue filled itself up first support act HARES took to the stage, a bubblegum- grunge phoenix rising from the burning embers of The Holloways. Looking like they’d just walked off of Camden high street, the recognisable face of Robb Skipper (vocals/guitar) was joined by Jack Flanagan (bass) and Adam Sullivan (drums).

No strangers to a Portsmouth crowd having recently played The Cellars, HARES took to their set steady with a post-grunge/baggy indie sound, complimenting each other nicely with some top form between song banter. Check their new EP ‘Coastlines’.

Next up were 4-peice MUST, also hailing from London. A band that consists of funky bass lines, a sweeter kinda shoegaze sound and a lot of toilet paper (a reference that only those in attendance of the gig will understand). Stand out tracks from the MUST set include ‘Die For You’ and ‘The Devil Lives’.

Now near full to capacity, The Wedgewood Rooms was ready for headline act The Pigeon Detectives. A crowd ranging from teenage girls to burly older men, battle lines were drawn, the lights dimmed and they took to the stage. Opening with ‘We Met At Sea’ track ‘I Won’t Come Back’, the still audience was now a sea of arms and bodies, the stage a blur of the erratic Pigeon Detectives lead singer Matt Bowman.

A quick word and bow to what Bowman describes as his ‘beloved Pompey’ the band tore into first album anthem ‘I Found Out’, moving everyone into pure delirium. Only 2 songs into a 17-song strong set The Pigeon Detectives had the capacity crowd in the palm of their hands, the backline tight from the off, but this is what we all expected. Following ‘I Found Out’ from ‘Up guards and at’em’ was ‘What Can I Say’ into second album single release ‘This Is An Emergency’ which was complimented by the accommodating all singing, all dancing crowd.

Although new album ‘We Met At Sea’ has been approached in a bad light by the musical media, played live album tracks ‘I Don’t Mind’ ‘Day And Month’ ‘Hold Your Gaze’ and opener ‘I Won’t Come Back’ slip nicely into The Pigeon Detectives live set up, with confidence around previous albums materials.

As always Bowman was on top form with crowd interaction, at one point crowd surfing over the first few rows as well as apologising to a female on the front row that I can only name as ‘Amanda’, in the unfortunate case of having his crotch in her face. Bottles and bottles of water were disposed of over himself or into the raucous crowd and the trademark jumping splits and microphone swing were continuously in action.

In a personal first before ‘Go At It Completely’ Bowman kindly asked every member of the audience to climb the shoulders of a friend, or not a friend in my case, before he could finish his sentence I was on the shoulders of another member of the audience, crowd surfing alongside members of HARES and MUST. Now a sweaty and very wet mess Bowman confirmed that the band would be going off for an encore but we must not ‘mug ourselves’ into thinking they aren’t coming back, he also confirmed that the next time the band return to the city they would take the party down to the seafront itself and into The Pyramids.

 In their return they smash into second album track ‘Everybody Wants Me’ followed by the few final crowd sways and circle pits during ‘Take Her Back’ ‘Hold Your Gaze’ and Indie banger ‘I’m Not Sorry’. As the final thank you was said, some more toilet paper was thrown and water was poured, The Wedgewood Rooms crowd ran onto empty and into the night.

The Pigeon Detectives are now to embark on a European tour on the back of their new album which you can buy in all good record stores, and in the words of the band themselves “Keep music alive, buy music”.

Images courtesy of TomLangfordPhotography.