Progressive folk rockers Jack O' The Clock are dead set on breaking through the barriers between genres on their new album The Warm, Dark Circus. The band's composer Damon Waitkus leads the band through both familiar and uncharted territories - the latter reaches a peak with the sprawling pairing of How Are We Doing... and ...And Who Will Tell Us?, a mix of jazz and vaudeville, topped off with a blend of Love and Beach Boys melodies and King Crimson guitar flourishes. It can be a challenging, but rewarding listening experience. Picture a dark chest of drawers with no indication of what is stored inside each one of them. It might be an atonal piece that Captain Beefheart fans will love or a surprisingly gentle acoustic excursion.
It is only after a couple listens that it becomes clear that the lyrics are as diverse and complicated as the music. Stuck Inside of Elvis takes a gentle swipe at all the King's impersonators, Sage's Song is a 101 for telling a complete in six short lines, and Dürer's Rhinoceros is more like a short story set to music. The Warm, Dark Circus continues the band's journey through a carefully crafted musical landscape wherein the signposts can be deceptive but always point to something interesting and adventurous.
Jack O' The Clock:
Damon Waitkus: vocals, guitars, hammer dulcimers, piano, flutes, etc.
Emily Packard: violin, viola
Jason Hoopes: bass
Jordan Glenn: drums, accordion, synth
Kate McLoughlin: bassoon
Thea Kelly: vocals
Victor Reynolds: guitars, recorders, harmonica, vocals, etc.
Ivor Holloway: saxophones
Jon Russell: clarinets
Keith Waters: baritone saxophone
Karl Evangelista: electric guitar
Art Elliot: piano
Josh Packard: cello
Ben Spees: microtonal guitars
Myles Boisen: pedal steel
The Warm, Dark Circus is a self-released album. Buy it from their website.
Tracks:- The Ladder Slipped
- Division Blues
- Stuck Inside of Elvis
- Sage's Song
- Dürer's Rhinoceros
- This Is Just What It Seems
- How Are We Doing...
- ...And Who Will Tell Us?
- Snowman on a Ledge
- 10/27 The band's studio, Brattleboro, CA
(album release show w/ Vex Party)
HCTF review of Leaving California.
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