Labels: Act Your Age
Review by: Ian Cavell
First heard about these guys back on an Act Your Age split 7″ and I remember being suitably impressed by the song ‘Souvenir’. Kinda of a nice blend of poppy-punk and indie-rock although with a sharp twist that helped it stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately it seems like Jessica Six disbanded over a year ago, hence this collection of songs is being released posthumously. It shows just how much Act Your Age and Highwater (its a split label release) thought of the band that they would be willing to put out a CD without a touring band to back it up. And for the first half of this CD I can’t thank them enough. I can’t ladle enough praise on songs such as ‘Anne Mars’, ‘Newport Millionaire’ and ‘Kansas City Monarch’. Great stuff, nice and catchy (although they seem to have opted for the ‘obscure’ angle with the lyrics) and definitely worth a look.
What stops me embracing this CD with open arms is that while half the songs are great there are some that just passed me by completely. And one or two that I can’t even listen to all the way through (the final track, ‘saul met a girl’, is perhaps the least impressive parting shot I’ve heard in quite some time).
Its a shame because ‘All Good Things’ was shaping to be an awesome album. Despite some killer songs the overall impression is a little patchy.