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news
The Leeds scene is generally short of Americana bands. But living in West
Yorkshire and not the Mid-west of America, is no disadvantage to Jackson
Palmer, who manage to sew some darn juicy alt-country seeds in that there
Yorkshire soil!
This 7 song debut is a rough diamond. The production is not to sparkling and
an odd desire to overly treat Leigh Linley's vocals with unusual reverb is a
mistake that hampers the potential tenderness of beautiful songs like title
track "Sun in the fall" and the sweet genius of "Frank". But a tune is a tune
and the delicate well written interaction of vocals, guitar and piano is hard
to kill even when too many studio buttons have been pressed.
Other highlights come in the Dillon styled opening to "Song a day" and closer
"Horse" with its homage to Hendrix's "Hey Joe" in the play out. But the summit
is truly reached by the xylophone enhanced "Frank", which alone makes this
mini-album worthy of a purchase.
Next up Jackson Palmer, before the gig I think about what these guys are going to sound like and I think to myself "Leeds lads doing alt-Country and Americana, this could so easily be awful!" Thankfully though it wasn't, it was fantastically done, and (in a Kentucky type accent) these boys sure can play! This is an English take on the kind of stuff that Ryan Adams was doing in 2002 with Gold and in some parts they also have more than a few comparisons to the Kentucky sound of My Morning Jacket too. Jackson Palmer are a real breath of fresh air tonight and are so different from the stuff I'm used to seeing when I normally review gigs on a dreary week night, it really went down well with the audience as well. The lead singer was charming in a non-cocky kind of way and had a nice little banter going with the audience which I liked... By the end of the gig there is a real sense of pride among the Jackson Palmer boys as they walk offstage to vague chants of "CD on sale, CD on sale". I bought it on my way out.
Chris Phelan
The name Jackson Palmer conjures images of the Deep South Americana, truck stops, dirty baseball hats, plucking acoustic guitars while sat out on the porch…you know, that kind of thing?
Well, this Leeds and York based band have some of that going on and is a hint of they have to offer, but is not completely accurate, as they demonstrate with their newly released LP “Sun in the Fall”.
The 30 minute LP opens with “Fools”, led by a plucked country sounding acoustic guitar; this is where the Americanisms end. The vocals are very English, with an interesting chorus effect on the voice which adds warmth to the sound. There is a dark underbelly to the track, but at the same time is very radio friendly which is always a plus in this reviewer’s book. The Coral would seem to be the closest comparison I could make, who also wear their American influences with pride, and Jackson Palmer also carry it off rather well.
Second track “Shame” similarly could well also have come from The Coral back catalogue but is much more of a straightforward rock song than the previous track. Telling the story of a broken man “Who never gambled until he lost/And he just cried in Shame” they paint a vivid picture, and is hardly lyrical wizardry but is easily understandable as to what they are trying to portray. The only really grating point is the drawn out guitar solo which prevents it, like “Fools”, being a no nonsense pop tune.
Title track “Sun in The Fall” sees the band slow the tempo and are very much in Beta Band territory with great harmonies carrying the track through against a very country tinged electric guitar. The song plods along and is never meandering, but very enjoyable, complete with dashes of well delivered vocal harmony and changes of key and rhythm. A fantastic keyboard break comes out of nowhere, when it seems like it’s nearing the end of the song, but is once again followed by an unnecessary guitar solo that carries on much more than it should be welcome to. I just wish the band wasn’t so keen to try and showcase the fact they have talent and can play, when it will be very obvious to the listeners of this CD that they have all of the above.
“Frank” is by far the stand out song on the LP opening with an unusual piano line which leads into a gem of an acoustic track. It has a real summer feel, like something Badly Drawn Boy should have written for the “About a Boy” soundtrack but never quite got round to it. His loss. The guitars, the percussion, the touches of xylophone and that strangely dark vocal blend so well. The Spacemen 3/Joy Division-esque vocals are very simply delivered letting the music do all the work, and this by no means a criticism, especially when produced to this standard….Fantastic stuff.
Quite what happens with the instrumental track “Silver Pennies” I can’t quite understand, as the band deliver nothing more than mundane elevator music. It was all going so well…And the guitar solos are back, and are still grating, only this time accompanied by an equally dull keyboard. Next…..
“Song a Day” puts the band back on much more familiar ground with its harmonica intro, and general mellow feel, but that well delivered vocal is now replaced by a strained effort which never hits the mark, and is very noticeable. The seemingly “one take effort” chorus refrain of “I’ll take a good time over this” ironically would seem to be a little lost on the band. Ultimately if this song was produced to the same quality as previous tracks it would be fine, but as it stands is a division below the par which Jackson Palmer have set for themselves with the first four songs on the CD.
“Horse” closes the LP off and the criticisms from the previous track still apply. Musically it’s more than ok, but on the verses the vocal is strained and weak. This brings the song down which is a real shame as you know Jackson Palmer can and will do better. Ending with a very Charlatans sounding organ and (yet another!) guitar solo the album draws to a close leading me to wonder why there is such a gap in quality between the first 4 songs and the remaining material.
It does sound like an LP recorded in two parts, and if the band had released an EP with the first four songs included instead of a 30 minute album they would very much be onto a winner. As it stands you get a CD; one half of real quality and enjoyment and the second of not very much worth shouting about.
By Tim Hann
The third act was Jackson Palmer, described as "beautiful alt-country with echoes of the American west, laced with southern guitars" - not bad for an act from Leeds. This description pretty much sums their music up. They were also doing a roaring trade on the merchandising side, both before and after their set. Again they were completely different to the previous two acts. My only gripe from their set was that the singer's vocals were often drowned out by the guitars around him which was a real shame. I would really like to see these guys do an acoustic set so I can appreciate the lyrics more. I will definitely look out for them in the future.
hmv promotion - gig
jackson palmer playing september 16th as part of the hmv promotion at josephs
well in leeds
sun in the fall
jackson palmer have just begun putting the finishing touches to their first
mini-album, sun in the fall.
though delayed by a fire breaking out in the sponge studios halfway through the
first sessions, the album is now back on track to be release via the band around
september 04.
black market music
jackson palmer are to be included in a development deal setup by hmv and leeds
promotion house -
black market music. sun in the fall will be available for sale in hmv in
september, on a limited basis.
so if you want a copy, be sure to stay in touch with the band.
jackson palmer online
jackson palmer's website went live august 2004 courtesy of rick aka lars
please visit us for all ongoing news, releases, and updates on forthcoming
shows/events
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