The Next Big Thing: Smoke & Jackal

I had no real intention to make ‘The Next Big Thing’ into a weekly feature on my blog, but it just so happens that seven days after posting about Jake Downs’ Seize the Water, I’ve discovered another new song worthy of a blog post.

No Tell was recommended to me by one of my readers over at A to Z Albums. It’s the debut single by new rock supergroup Smoke & Jackal, composed of Kings of Leon bassist Jared Followill and Mona singer and guitarist Nick Brown.

As those of you who read A to Z Albums will know, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Kings of Leon and Caleb’s occasional screeches. No Tell, however, seems to take the aspects of Kings of Leon that I love and merges them with Nick Brown’s vocals, which are much softer than Caleb’s. The combination works well.

The very beginning of No Tell sounds slightly U2-esque, which certainly won’t be to everybody’s tastes. However, as soon as the bass kicks in, it is reminiscent of early Kings of Leon and the ghosts of U2 slip away. As for the lyrics, they have been a point of attack for some critics. Whilst they aren’t the most subtle or most finely crafted lyrics ever written (and should probably come with a PG rating), they don’t detract from the catchiness of this debut in the slightest. They certainly don’t deserve the comments made in a recent NME review, which seems to be working from a complete misunderstanding of the lyrics. There is absolutely no suggestion that the father of the girl in the song is actually present, nor that this is an attempt by Jared to ‘show off his fruity sex life’.

No Tell isn’t a ground-breaking debut, and I wouldn’t suggest that either Jared or Nick give up the day job quite yet. However, as far as supergroup side-projects go, it isn’t half bad. It particularly appeals to me as an opportunity to escape from Caleb’s vocals, which at times grate, whilst still providing that unmistakable Kings of Leon sound. Smoke & Jackal wanted this collaboration to be about simply ‘having fun’ and the results are fitting. No Tell isn’t going to win mountains of awards or draw in stadium-sized crowds, but it’s a fun, catchy debut that shows a lot of potential.

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Smoke & Jackal’s debut EP, EP1, is available tomorrow (16^th October).

Evangelical Zeal and the Next Big Thing: Jake Downs

One of my all-time favourite quotes is from John Green’s fantastic YA novel, The Fault in Our Stars:

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”

Being in the grasps of such evangelical zeal is a fantastic feeling. On discovering those particularly brilliant books, everything else is pushed out of mind. All that matters in that moment is that you absorb that piece of art and share it with the world.

I’ve often thought that, as a bookworm and over-enthusiastic fan of music, I should consider writing reviews. But reviews are a form of writing that I’ve always struggled with. As those of you who have been reading my A to Z Albums music blog will know, I prefer to discuss music in terms of my related feelings and memories, rather than publicly taking a more critical stance. Whilst my reviewing skills are something I’m trying to work on, I prefer to simply share the things which give me that true evangelical zeal. Besides, when in the grasps of that zeal I am left with very little choice. These books, these songs, these paintings, these programmes, these films demand to be shared.

So it’s without further ado that I introduce one such artist whose music has filled me with evangelical zeal…

The Next Big Thing: Jake Downs

Taking influence from musicians like Kate Bush, Florence Welch, Laura Marling and Bjork, Jake Downs mixes his classical training with his love of pop to produce something dangerously close to perfection.

Jake’s debut single, Seize the Water, was released just under a month ago. Unlike some debuts, Seize the Water doesn’t merely show potential. Jake’s excellence is already firmly established with his ethereal vocals, beautifully arranged strings and clever lyrics.

Seize the Water tells a story of heartbreak but remains uplifting and empowering in its assurance that such heartbreak is a rite of passage which eventually leads to a newfound positivity:

“But the grass is always greener every way you look these days,
There’s always something more, something better.”

As I write, Seize the Water’s beautifully shot video, which features Jake’s hometown Devon, has a mere 6037 hits on YouTube. Yet I am certain that those views will surely be flying high in the next few months. I really hope Jake gets the publicity he deserves and I, for one, cannot wait to see what he does next.

“Carpe Aquam”