Jeffery; Jack: Passage To Agadir

Sometimes as you take a journey you get fleeting glimpses of a beautiful destination that never fully comes into view. Then on your actual arrival you can't quite see the wood for the trees and that true beauty that was hinted at is never quite revealed. And so it is with Jack Jeffery's debut album Passage to Agadir. Flick through this collection of thirteen songs and each little segment has some beguiling elements that would seem to make for quite an impressive album. However once you settle into the disc as a whole, somehow the effect is lost.

It's not that Jeffery has put together a set of songs that are all too similar in style, although the pace could certainly be varied more from song to song, it is more that everything is far too low key and incidental. Tracks like "I Will Be There For You" and "Mind Horizon" are pleasant enough, but the lush layered vocals of the former, or the gentle harpsichord of the latter, while well executed, lack any spark, or the depth of atmosphere to really elevate them.

Style wise the Passage To Agadir does try to cover some varied ground, with the likes of The Beatles, The Moody Blues or Brian Eno often being brought to mind, however it is the two more obvious pieces of homage that actually work best. "Auf Wiedersehen" is a less barren take on Kratfwerks' electronica that lifts the mood of the album well, while "Interstellar Echoes On The Dark Side" obviously takes its cue from Pink Floyd. The ambient atmospheres and gloriously infectious wiggling bass line really does an excellent job of recreating the smooth, yet winding wash that Floyd revelled in like no band before or since and while it would be an exaggeration to suggest that Jeffery matches Pink and the boys, he does come pretty close.

When you take into account that this is Jeffery's first effort and that he plays, writes and produces all of these songs by himself, the results are reasonably impressive and repeated plays do reveal more of the songs intricacies. Passage To Agadir is a good starting place however Jack Jeffery will need to choose a more exotic location to really hit the spot next time.

Track Listing
1. Whiskey Burns
2. You've Lost Tomorrow
3. Passage To Adagir
4. Misty Morning
5. Where's The Ambient Jam?
6. Being Myself
7. Acoustic Mojo
8. Mind Horizon
9. Auf Wiedersehen!
10. I Will Be There For You
11. Interstellar Echoes On The Dark Side
12. Parsonian Seque
13. Overture For Galaxies And Stars

Added: September 28th 2010
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Jack Jeffery MySpace
Hits: 2106
Language: english

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