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"Your eyes can switch with every glance and when they catch me there's no chance"
EVERY GLANCE
Jack Peñate
Everything Is New
XL Recordings
2009
Se me hace muy dificil escoger una canción de este pedazo de disco, que contiene 9 verdaderos singles. El chico, que debe tener antepasados hispanos y se debe sentir orgulloso de ellos (lo que demuestra el hecho de que mantenga la "ñ" en su apellido) ha firmado un álbum tan redondo que merece una reseña aquí.
Aunque no soy fan de los ritmos caribeños ni africanos, Jack Peñate se ha montado aquí una banda de músicos empeñados en hacernos creer que lo ecléctico también puede sonar moderno. Muestra de ello es la mezcla de estilos que se dan el disco. Hay temas con bases claramente influenciadas por el estilo afro-rock que hizo popular Paul Simon en su Graceland (Everything Is New, Let's All Die, Give Yourself Away), otros hacen guiños directos a las bases rítmicas del mejor ambient (Every Glance), un trio de canciones hechas directamente para provocar el movimiento de piernas al más puro estilo canción pop, con su pegadizo estribillo (Pull My Heart Away, Be The One, So Near) o todo ello junto, el culmen: Tonight's Today. Curioso es además como Peñate introduce en casi todos los temas un instrumento tan poco relacionado con el pop que sorprende el gran partido que le saca: la mandolina.
¿Por qué elijo el tema Every Glance para la entrada? Quizá porque, junto con Body Down, es la canción de ritmo más tranquilo, más etérea y exótica, que parece hacerte flotar desde el principio, sobre todo si se escucha con los ojos cerrados. La calidez del ritmo (esa percusión), los arreglos de cuerda (esa mandolina) y el leve sonido del teclado en el estribillo te mantienen en un estado de semi-inconsciencia solo interrumpido por el coro de canción tribal africana antes de comenzar el suave descenso hacia el suelo de nuevo. ¿Escuchas la mandolina?
I really find it hard to pick a favourite from this incredible 9-single album. The guy (who must have Spanish ancestors and must be proud of them, as we can tell from the fact that he's kept the Spanish spelling in his surname instead of simply dropping the un-English symbol over the "n") has created such a big thing that he deserves a post.
Although African and Caribbean rhythms are not my cup of tea, one must reckon that Jack Peñate has made the most of it to make us feel that the eclectic can also be considered modern, as proved by the mixture of styles found in the album.
Some tracks are clearly influenced by the afro-rock sound that Paul Simon made popular in his Graceland album (Everything Is New, Let's All Die, Give Yourself Away), others drink from the source of the best ambient sound rhythms (Every Glance), there's also a trilogy of pop hits with catchy verses made directly for the dancefloor (Pull My Heart Away, Be The One, So Near), and a track where all the above takes place, the summit: Tonight's Today. It's funny though how Peñate makes use of the mandolin, such an unusual instrument in pop songs.
Why is Every Glance the chosen one? Maybe because, together with Body Down, it is the most relaxed, exotic and ethereal track in the album. Listen to it with your eyes closed and you'll feel you're floating in the air from the very beginning. The warm rhythm (fine percussion), the string arrangements and the faint soft sound of the keyboard in the chorus keep you in a state of half-consciousness only interrupted by a choir of African tribal voices before you start to slowly descend to the ground again. Did you hear that mandolin sound?
¿Por qué elijo el tema Every Glance para la entrada? Quizá porque, junto con Body Down, es la canción de ritmo más tranquilo, más etérea y exótica, que parece hacerte flotar desde el principio, sobre todo si se escucha con los ojos cerrados. La calidez del ritmo (esa percusión), los arreglos de cuerda (esa mandolina) y el leve sonido del teclado en el estribillo te mantienen en un estado de semi-inconsciencia solo interrumpido por el coro de canción tribal africana antes de comenzar el suave descenso hacia el suelo de nuevo. ¿Escuchas la mandolina?
I really find it hard to pick a favourite from this incredible 9-single album. The guy (who must have Spanish ancestors and must be proud of them, as we can tell from the fact that he's kept the Spanish spelling in his surname instead of simply dropping the un-English symbol over the "n") has created such a big thing that he deserves a post.
Although African and Caribbean rhythms are not my cup of tea, one must reckon that Jack Peñate has made the most of it to make us feel that the eclectic can also be considered modern, as proved by the mixture of styles found in the album.
Some tracks are clearly influenced by the afro-rock sound that Paul Simon made popular in his Graceland album (Everything Is New, Let's All Die, Give Yourself Away), others drink from the source of the best ambient sound rhythms (Every Glance), there's also a trilogy of pop hits with catchy verses made directly for the dancefloor (Pull My Heart Away, Be The One, So Near), and a track where all the above takes place, the summit: Tonight's Today. It's funny though how Peñate makes use of the mandolin, such an unusual instrument in pop songs.
Why is Every Glance the chosen one? Maybe because, together with Body Down, it is the most relaxed, exotic and ethereal track in the album. Listen to it with your eyes closed and you'll feel you're floating in the air from the very beginning. The warm rhythm (fine percussion), the string arrangements and the faint soft sound of the keyboard in the chorus keep you in a state of half-consciousness only interrupted by a choir of African tribal voices before you start to slowly descend to the ground again. Did you hear that mandolin sound?
Y si encima el chico Jack se lo monta tan bien que nos deja escuchar el disco entero en su página web y nos regala un mp3 gratis, ¿qué más se puede pedir?
And if the guy is kind enough as to let us listen to the whole album on his website and offers the free download of a song... who could ask for more!
Enlaces/Links:
Jack Peñate's official web site: http://www.jackpenate.com/
Entrevista en Mondosonoro
Acabo de descubrir su canción "Be the one" y me parece genial, creo que llegará muy lejos, si le dejan. Suena genial.
ResponderEliminarNo me parece lo mejor del disco, pero en el Reino Unido ha tenido mucho éxito. Y no, no creo que aquí le den mucha cancha en los medios, aunque su sonido es mucho mejor que muchas mierdas que nos meten en las MTVs
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