Welcome back, Gentleman Jesse!

What?! It’s been three months since I updated my 2012 Album of the Year shortlist? I must be losing my touch! Today I make my first public revision to the list, and in all seriousness it might be the last time I mess with the top spot. That’s how good Gentleman Jesse’s new album is. Unless you’ve been living in a cave (which I sort of do), you know the back story. America’s most beloved power pop classicist, after enduring such hardships as a brutal mugging, the death of several friends, and the general air of violence in recession-era Atlanta, went to a dark place for quite a while. He retreated to his basement, wrote a bunch of songs, and eventually emerged with the album Leaving Atlanta. Fear not: it’s by no means a “dark” album. Jesse has not really strayed from the tried-and-true Rickenbacker guitar pop formula that’s been his stock-in-trade for years. And while the labeling of this as a solo album might lead some to believe that Jesse has gone all softy singer/songwriter on us, the truth is that Leaving Atlanta out-rocks the last album by a wide margin. 

The good news is that Jesse isn’t really leaving Atlanta. Oh, he may have considered it. But nothing can keep a good man down. Brilliant leadoff track “Eat Me Alive” purges the demons that inspired this album, turning tragedy to triumph. “This city’s trying to eat me alive,” sings Jesse. “But it’s as good a place as any to try to survive. So if you keep your head down, you push on through, you just might make it to the other side.” Words to live by for sure! You hear that frantic guitar jangle, that fierce desperation in the vocals, and you realize this could have been a dark album. But our man did make it to the other side, and this inspiring tune sets a tone for a genuinely upbeat, totally poptastic album. Like last year’s great Missing Monuments LP (King Louie in fact guests on harmonica on “Eat Me Alive”), Leaving Atlanta marries the sounds of classic power pop to the punchy grit of bar band rock n’ roll. “I’m Only Lonely” comes off like The Beat jamming with The E Street Band circa 1980, while “Take It Easy On Me” and “Covered Up My Tracks” blend soulful rock n’ roll with ‘60s girl group dramatics a la The Reigning Sound. And as much as I like by-the-book perfect power pop numbers such as “I’m a Mess” (in my opinion, the best song on the album), what really elevates Leaving Atlanta is that it never quite settles down. Nervy pub-rock corkers like “You Give Me Shivers” provide kicks in the pants at just the right spots, and it’s just freakin’ cool that Jesse gets possessed by Little Richard for a minute-and-a-half of unadulterated fun on “Rooting for the Underdog”. And at the end of the day, in spite of its dark origins, Leaving Atlanta is mostly a collection of love songs. Some are optimistic (“Kind of Uptight”), and some are agonizing (“Careful What You Wish For”). But they’re all great. From top to bottom, this album is stacked. No longer a mere acolyte to the likes of Paul Collins and Nick Lowe, Gentleman Jesse has joined them in the masters class.



-L.R.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gentleman-Jesse-His-Men/243949526051
http://www.douchemasterrecords.blogspot.com/

Sonic Avenues!

While Les Canadiens may be having their worst season in years, it’s not all frowns in Montreal this year. Sonic Avenues are doing the city proud, and their second LP Television Youth is the first title to make my 2012 Album of the Year short-list (yes, I’m already thinking about such things!). Clearly there are great things happening in Canada right now when it comes to punk rock, and Dirtnap Records knows that better than anyone. Late last year, the label gave us the incredible sophomore album from Ottawa’s Steve Adamyk Band. Now Dirtnap heads east and taps Sonic Avenues for its newest release. Ken has been on fire lately, putting out one killer record after another. And so the winning streak continues! Television Youth is a welcome dose of high-speed punk/powerpop that sounds right in place on the label that gave us the Marked Men and High Tension Wires. Even more so, I’m reminded of The Stiletto Boys, one of my favorite bands of all-time. Rare is the band that can play this fast yet still retain an uber-melodic sensibility throughout. The worst pop/punk bands manage to be neither pop nor punk. Sonic Avenues are the opposite of that! They combine all the best aspects of pop and punk, coming through with track after track of racing, exhilarating tuneage that puts a modernized twist on the Dickies/Buzzcocks formula. “Givin’ Up On You” kicks off the party with a bang, and from there it’s off to the races. Songs like “Throw It Away”, the title track “Television Youth”, and “Static Attraction” are hook-laden burners fueled by hyper-driven melodies and mega-catchy guitar leads. I also enjoy the nimble bass work, superbly harmonized backups, and occasional use of organ in the background. The vocals hit that just-right mix of snotty and emotionally charged, and especially on bittersweet love songs like “Late Summer Goner” and “Back Up Back Down”, I hear plaintive echoes of the Exploding Hearts. What’s not to love?! Sonic Avenues rule the school! The Canadian Invasion is full-on happening!



-L.R.

http://www.facebook.com/SonicAvenues
http://www.dirtnaprecs.com/
http://www.myspace.com/sonicavenues