The Sleepy Jackson
Lovers
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NATN Recommended
The Sleepy Jackson
Lovers
Astralwerks, 2003
RiYL: Brendan Benson, AC Newman, Ween, Fountains Of Wayne |
Steele’s arrangements are so natural-sounding that, paired with production clarity, they can make rapturous pop songs like “Good Dancers” and “This Day” sound like pleasant background music. Additionally, the stylistic variations within that comfy sonic realm are so numerous that listening to Lovers can remind one of the sweet lull of a ‘70s radio station, just running through a string of rock, pop and country hits of the day.
But through repeated plays, and encounters in cars and headphones, the full measure of Steele’s talent really becomes apparent. The songs have that “different-but-similar” feel because of Steele’s playful attitude toward his music, belying the wealth of skill clearly necessary to pull off such recordings.
The band – also featuring guitarist and producer Jonathan Burnside, drummer/pianist Malcom Clark, bassist Rod Aravena and a revolving cast of other musicians – is equally adept at lilting country relationship songs like “Miniskirt” as it is pounding out the caffeinated rocker “Vampire Racecourse” or revving up the echo chamber for the ethereal, new-wavey “Don’t You Know.”
And with the exception of the opiated spoken-word poem “Fill Me With Apples,” all of these songs are adorned with some form of memorable vocal chorus melody. Steele has a habit of presenting hooks in wordless form, making prodigious use of “na-na-na”s and “doo-doo-doo”s in the course of Lovers (see: “Old Dirt Farmer,” “This Day,” “Tell The Girls I’m Not Hanging Out”), but it’s not unwelcome. It’s a great way of stripping the songs down to their basic elements and delivering some great melodies without bogging them down in verbal imagery.
Steele strips even more down for the closing track, “Morning Rain,” which is basically just Luke on guitar and vocals, accompanied by himself and, erm, the morning rain itself. The short tune shows that Steele’s songwriting doesn’t need his and Burnside’s sonic fantasyland production to shine through.
At the least, this is an impressive debut from the Sleepy Jackson. Optimistically, it could end up being viewed as a bit of a timeless classic, in its own unassuming way.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.