Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 29/01/07
Label: Mercury

It's not easy being an overnight sensation. It's taken Jack Allsopp five years, as many singles, two record labels and no doubt countless sleepless nights wondering why the avalanche of critical acclaim which surrounded his 2003 debut album, "The Outer Marker", didn't translate into his rhyming / singing alter ego, Just Jack, becoming a household name. As he now breathes a sigh of relief at finally coming from out of nowhere to score a number two single with the irrepressible "Starz In Their Eyes" - narrowly missing out on the top spot to Mika's "Grace Kelly" - he's hopefully feeling the wait was worth it, and in more ways than one.

Drawn-out as his ascendancy has been, it was for the best. Just Jack's chaotic act - a balance of maverick ingenuity and classic song writing, bric-a-brac style and eloquent substance - is a hard one to pull-off; made harder by the breadth of music he likes to roam. With hindsight, and impressive as it was, "The Outer Marker" wasn't quite there. Close, but not quite the stroke of genius it could have been. Since then though, he's had plenty of time to refine his dance-rock-hip-hop soundclash, to hone his observational skills and make an album that'll go beyond cult classic to be the year's must have. "Overtones" is exactly that album.

Dank, sordid and beautiful, every track is pitched to perfection. He may be throwing an ungodly mess of electro, funk, rock and boy band harmonies into "I Talk Too Much", yet what comes out is little short of brilliance. "Disco Friends" is scathing to muted house, "Symphony Of Sirens" loiters sinisterly in a dark stairwell and "Life Stories" is a breezy stroll down a North London high street on a summers day with Soul II Soul blaring in the background. And by some miracle, it all comes together into one compelling whole.

Mike Skinner ticks the box as the most obvious comparison; Jack's smart, recklessly eclectic and skilled at social commentary (see the Heat inspired "Starz In Their Eyes" and chilling indictment of Ikea man, "Lost"). Yet he's no cheeky geezer. Jack is jaded and world worn. He's a deep thinker with bullet-proof choruses and a taste for the '90s.

If anything, this is the record Robbie Williams set out to make with "RudeBox"; a bruised coming of age album, where the troubled hero struggles to make sense of the world around him while reminiscing with the sounds of his mis-spent youth. It's an all-consuming pop record with a heart, a history and hang-ups, which everyone old enough to remember Tiger Tokens and body-popping will relate to. It's taken Just Jack a while, but the reward for his patience is a modern masterpiece.

    by Dan Gennoe