Jack O' the Clock: How Are We Doing and Who Will Tell Us?

Jack O' the Clock is an Alameda, California band made up of Jordan Glenn - drums, percussion, accordion; Jason Hoopes - basses, voice, piano; Kate McLoughlin - bassoon, voice, flute, recorder, percussion; Emily Packard - 5 string and baritone violins, viola, banjo, psaltery, melodica, musical saw; and Damon Waitkus - voice, guitar, hammer dulcimer, banjo, piano, pianet, flute, ukelin, percussion, production. They are considered an experimental folk rock band with two albums under their belt already.

This is a very Zappa - like mix of folky acoustic instrumentation with vocals added in for flavor on many of the songs. "Shrinking" is the best song of the bunch. It's a good album if you like your music and instrumentation without real structure. It is original and dynamic in that they use many different instruments to create their style of music. I was introduced to the bowed psaltery, pianet, waterphone, music saw, as well as other utensils that were used as instruments with this production. The tracks are full of bouncy vocals combined with avant garde instrumentation. They add some poetry and spoken word later in the album. It is an original work full of inventive compositions.

Track Listing:

1. "Blue Tail Fly"
2. "Schlitzie, Last of the Aztecs, Lodges an Objection in the Order of Things"
3. "Shrinking"
4. "Deepwater Horizon Burning"
5. "First of the Year"
6. "Manifesto"
7. "Back to the Swamp"
8. "Looking In"
9. "Last of the Blue Bloods" "Search"
10. "Novaya Zemlya"
11. "Ultimate Thule"

Added: May 16th 2011
Reviewer: Mark Johnson
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 3233
Language: english

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