UK singer-songwriter, Cosmo Jarvis returns with his third album of uniquely twisted acoustic rock tunes. The loose, plucky acoustic arrangements and delightful flourishes of strings remain, but Jarvis sounds a bit less salty than on his two previous efforts. The softened edges of the songwriting makes this the most accessible of Jarvis' albums, dropping some of the spoken-word angst of songs past in favor of a full-bodied melodic groove on songs like the jabbing orchestral pop of "Tell Me Who To Be". Not to say this is entirely a polished pop album, with the fiery banjo-infused eruption of excellent "Sunshine" offering a metal-dipped conclusion and the terrorist bombing narrative of electric guitar fueled gem "Train Downtown" proving a poppy sound can still deliver a razor-sharp message, but the influence of the sixties Brit-pop invasion is evident more often than not.
The twinkling piano and casually sawing strings dress up the plucky acoustic pop of uplifting "Love This", as he lends a playful melodic tone to his slickly written lyrics questioning God, "I'll probably ask you sh*t you heard a million times / How many parts of things I do would you consider crimes?" Jarvis takes on the country twang of Grateful Dead's "Friend Of The Devil" with a banjo and a delightfully sneering vocal for a solid rendition, while the bluesy strut of "Good Citizen" finds him railing against taxes and government with guitar ablaze, "Ain't never voted, so my hands ain't guilty / I'm making an enemy of my beloved country". Jarvis' latest finds him spreading his wings for a more accessible pop slant while holding tight to his thoughtful songwriting for the best album of his young, promising career.
Seek - "Love This", "Train Downtown", "Sunshine"
For fans of - Citizen Cope
If you like this, we think you'll also dig - Chris Price: Homesick
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