The excellent emerging Bucks based label Try Harder produces yet another eclectic addition to its rosta. Jonquils debut album “Sunny Casinos” begins with summer-at-dusk busks mixed in with some odd clatterings, before melting away to a post c86 landscape. Played out on pianos and strings with haunting, distanced voices and echoes of folk via a double bass, flugelhorn and bouzoukis, Jonquil is certainly exploring as many boundaries as possible. As the album progresses it’s also clear that Jonquils concept of folk isn’t confined to the more tradional British sounds, as hints of Classic European, Japanese and maybe even Greek influences seep through with a natural, sharpened charm. Nearly every song is preceded by the earthy buzz of a field recording, which ebb away to allow the cascading canvas of acoustic instruments and intricate computer fettled sounds to shimmer and settle. It’s all rather haunting and dark yet somehow incredibly captivating. 4/5 - AS |
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WORK005 1. Avignon CD album in gatefold sleeve |