i make no excuses for the fact that i’ve never been one for lyrical content, the appeal of music for me is predominantly about the sound and the use of the various sonic components.
whether this involves the more traditional guitars, drums and bass set up, or machines is, on the whole, irrelevant, as its the end result that interests me.
clearly though, if you follow the blog you will understand when i say that the standard rock band set up holds little interest for me, and it’s only when more experimental aspects are added to the mix that i become more involved.
subsequently over the years, i have latched onto various producers for my pop thrills : adrian sherwood, bill laswell, trevor horn being the ones that have really hit the playlist.
however, it has to be said in recent times, jacknife lee has become one such party that seems to sidestep my usual fanboy urges.
ever since garret lee brought the hard edged compulsion to a conclusion and morphed into the bootlegging remixer in demand that is jacknife lee, his studio skills have been called upon by quite a well known cross section of the worlds most successful bands (google will provide the detail you require).
so why is it then that the man still has the need to release albums under his own moniker ?
who knows.
all i can say is that i for one (and possibly the only person given that i have never in the 2 years since its release seen this album in a proper record shop !) am very glad.
clearly jacknife lee has a certain style that’s in demand(modern, crisp, radio friendly rock music with some subtle production tweaks), he does seem to get involved with bands that on the whole don’t appeal to yours truly, yet, i continue to be a sucker for his so called ‘solo’ albums.
while the first two jacknife lee albums (released in 1999 and 2001) were very much in league with the lure of the big beat, sample stuffed happy pop groove that could have formed the soundtrack to many a jumping party, his latest album simply called jacknife lee, is a different beast altogether.
fusing a love for noisy industrial styled guitars, and edgy electronic production, this short 35 minute album provides a rare insight into the mans darker corners, often indicating that he just wants to be left alone.
the half spoken-sung short, abrupt, bullet point styled lyrics by jacknife lee add to the claustrophobic atmospherics adding a level of concern that during the creation of this album jacknife lee was not in a good place, that or he has a very dark sense of humour.
however, all such concerns are swept aside when the music hits.
despite the overloaded ultra-modern production there are visceral thrills a plenty.
whether it’s the twanged up industrial grit that underpins the irony rich making me money, or the catchy time wasting declaration of i love the useless, i find a lot of this album completely fascinating.
for i cut your hair, the mood is lifted, and romance and melody make an unexpected appearance the result being a gorgeous heartfelt song which in the hands of some of his pay masters could easily head to the top of a radio chart near you.
but, such moments of warmth are few and far between as bands is a non too subtle dig at the current state of the music industry, and could be one reason why the album has effectively been buried, as the song is littered with such phrases as ‘shut up you’re annoying and useless’ embedded within a state of the art glut of electro twitches, and synths. the result is wonderfully subversive, and if i were a band who had just been recently produced/remixed by mr lee, i would definitely be scanning the lyrics for any hidden jibes.
monkey in the meat throws caution to the wind and over the course of nearly minutes layers up the looped, effect heavy guitars-n-synths making one wonder if jacknife lee secretly recorded a few jam sessions by the edge and has used the recordings in an uncredited form.
the overall result is that this could no way be declared a a classic album, but being completely selfish, it is one that ticks all the right boxes for yours truly, in its use of twisted beats, strange noises, and angry guitars.
should you chance upon this album, then please tread carefully, it bites.
i have the scars to prove it.
more detail : here