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06/16/10 Casbah, San Diego, CA
Discography
07/03/10 Chapel Hill, NC
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Jeremy Jay is an odd duck. With one foot in the past and a penchant for subtle grooves, he both defies and adheres to the weary standards of indie rock. Splash, like Jay’s previous albums, evokes the effortlessly cool affectation of a retro mod scene, in a way that only a child of the 80s could imagine. Smart, swaggering and ripe with pop aesthetics, Splash is foremost a thing of style. It’s obvious that Jay’s interest in song craft goes beyond basic verse-chorus-bridge mechanics—this album is not the product of frugal efforts; in fact, compared to A Place Where We Could Go, Splash sounds positively excessive.
Whatever shift occurred between A Place and Splash, it’s working. The former’s sparse prose coupled with a kind of dreamy, late night haze was best suited for solitary strolls and plenty of inner thoughts. But Splash brings the music out of head and into the club and Jay indulges with a wink, giving the kids what they want: danceable pop. Of course, there isn’t a single track that will make pores sweat—that would be showy; no, Splash is not a dance record inasmuch as an excuse for young things to happily sway with other young things. Jay is probably not capable of creating a straightforward dance record, even if this album makes you want to Jazzercise. He’s far too concerned with lyrics and imagery to sacrifice a story for a booty shaker (this is made obvious by the song “It Happened Before Our Time,” which is strange and pirate-referencing).
The strength of Splash is, paradoxically, also its weakness. Despite advances, Jay retains his signature sing-speak and frequent “woo”-ing, henceforth referred to as “his thing.” His thing is pretty and sincere, but at times the “woos” seem self-indulgent, like “okay, man, we get it—you have range.” Perhaps I’m nitpicking; what artist doesn’t have an obnoxious-yet-embraced thing*? Besides, the charming piano on “Just Dial My Number” almost negates all previously mentioned “woo.”
Splash was released on May 25th. You can purchase the album at the K Records website or download the title track at MBV Music. Visit Jay’s Myspace to sample the album or find tour updates. If you have a chance, experience the artist live: you wouldn’t think by looking at him, but the boy can move—albeit, more awkward than naught (such is the curse of being tall and thin).
*See: Mason Jennings, diphthong; Joanna Newsom, child’s voice, harp; M.I.A., frightening political views; Har Mar Superstar, unwarranted nudity; and the list goes on.
06/11/2010 19:34:07 ♥ lara (
) ♥ myspace.com/jeremyjay ♥ krecs.com
