The Brian Jacket Letdown
Darling Bit Me (Genepool)
The debut LP offering from the Brian Jacket Letdown could almost be defined us indefinable, not so much genre-hopping as creating their own as they plod through the 11 track album ‘Darling Bit Me’. With over 20 instruments accredited to this album the TBJL have almost literally thrown everything but the kitchen sink into their work, they do however boast the use of a toilet bowl which, lets be honest, is not far off.
The result is surprisingly fresh and almost futuristic, the art work for the album hints at space travel and that about sums up the feel you get from this album, space age Sci-Fi / cosmic adventure.
Opening track ‘Sometimes’ is a mellow introduction to the band and the beginning of the instrument-fest which is to ensue, everything from ukulele to saxophone can be heard in perfect quantities, meaning that none sound out of place in the overall sound which is created. The somewhat eccentric characteristics of the band are apparent on tracks such as ‘The Feast’ where lead vocalist Will Harper sings about his desire to “take a cheeseball, take a cigar, go dancing”, other equally quirky lyrics are heard on ‘Devil In My Room’ where “there’s a devil in my room, he’s trying on my clothes’ is calmly repeated many times.
Some genuinely beautiful musical moments come in the form of ‘Wolfie Boy’, the violin and flute combination mixed with the woeful vocals make for an eerie audio delight which highlights the bands creative style, this is also displayed on closing track ‘Obtain (The Harpoon Song)’. Other album highlights include ‘White Sky’ which exemplifies the space travel elements of the album, ‘Whole Lot Of Time’ shows too that the band can do indie disco rock (with their own unique twist of course).
Overall, the clever blend of instruments make for an interesting listen and come across as nothing short of pleasant, making this album one space adventure not to be missed.
Mark Petrie
