I confess I was initially rather derisory where JACK PENATE was concerned because he seemed stupidly hyped from the word go. The first time I encountered him was in a feature about the coming of MySpace where he was already being cited as the next great white hope in waiting, so I was quite disappointed when his early singles on XL sounded so weedy and far too chirpy for their own good.
Consequently, I'd continued to resist his seemingly unstoppable rise ever since and wasn't entirely enamoured when his debut album 'Matinee' dropped expectantly through on to the doormat. I'd go so far to say I'd even been relishing the chance of savaging what I expected to be an underachieving indie-pop album.
But - lo and behold - young Jack (still only 22, lest we forget, such is the level of expectation) has clearly been working on his biceps since our paths last crossed and I (journalistically) kicked sand in his face. Because, 'Matinee' - though it's hardly Iron Maiden - finds Penate hooked up with his well-drilled band featuring Joel Porter (bass) and drummer Alex Robins and aurally enhanced by in-demand producer Jim Abbiss (Editors, Kasabian, t'Arctics): a man well-versed in the vagaries of modern day indie.
Actually, I say 'modern day', but actually Jack Penate's sound remains very rooted in the 1980s. It's undeniable that the ghosts of The Smiths, Style Council and The Housemartins flit through your mind as Penate and chums dispatch these songs of love, dreams and enthusiasm, but because the tunes are all shot through with Penate's irrepressible optimism and easily-recognisable, slightly lispy Sarf Lahndan twang, he's worked up enough charisma to carry it off these days.
The three songs you'll probably already be familiar with - the three singles, 'Spit At Stars', 'Second, Minute or Hour' and 'Torn On The Platform' - are all present and correct, but remain good value. The gritty, scratchy guitars and robust band performance on 'Spit At Stars' ensures the album gets off to a flyer; the hugely hooky 'Second, Minute Or Hour' is frenetically exciting after a couple of plays and the breathless guitars and cute, indie-ska breakdowns of the lovelorn 'Torn On The Platfrom' have already gone down in indie-anthem lore. Curiously, Hollywood hotshot producer Tony Hoffer was called in to work his big-budget magic on this last one, yet the results are quintessential, heartfelt Penate. One of those go figure moments, I guess.
Talking of name producers, the other point of order I don't quite get is Philadelphian electronic wizard RJD2 was called in for 'Learning Lines', because - other than a mildly funky groove and some discreet organ and piano - it's hard to hear exactly what he brought to the table that Penate didn't already possess. Nonetheless, it's a decent tune, and with the roustabout delights of 'Made of Codes' and the Mod-pop anti-violence of 'Run For Your Life' ensure the album's middle section remains buoyant.
|
The one major bone I do have to pick with Jack Penate, though, is that he still doesn't quite cut the Colmans when he attempts something a little more expansive and/ or ballad-like. Indeed, this deficiency remains patently obvious when you get to the likes of the string-drenched 'We Will Be Here' or 'My Yvonne' - both of which I'm sure come straight from that big heart of his, but he really hasn't acquired the gravitas to pull them off as yet, however many falsetto inflections he falls back upon. There again, he signs off with the jarringly honest 'When I Die', where - against the low-key Gospel of Ealing's St. Barnabus's choir - he asks the very pertinent questions: "will their tears wash the church away?/ and their cries smash the stain glass panes?/ or will it be another lonely morning for the priest?" Questions we probably ask ourselves, if we're being brutally honest ourselves.
Actually, I'd previously expected myself to be criticising Penate for being one of rock's great 'gushers' along the lines of the young Julian Cope (well, minus the acid, natch) but really only the hardest heart could really knock the devotion to his loved ones Penate exudes on songs like 'Got My Favourite' ("I got my favourite gold signet ring/ the one that gives me power to sing/ from my Mum who I owe all things") and indeed a song like this reminds us that sincerity is not a commodity to be scoffed at - especially in these overly cynical 21st Century days.
So if all this sounds like a cynical old bastard of a reviewer being melted by the enthusiasm and hearftelt performances of a talented young pup, well that's just about the size of it. I still feel Jack Penate has ground to make up in some areas, but overall 'Matinee' is a well-rounded debut full of love, hope, optimism and more love and all these are reasons enough to be in the front row when the lights go down.
(www.jackpenate.com)
(www.myspace.com/jackpenate)
|
