|
 |
Charles JenkinsThe City Gates Parole/Inertia Most reviews of Charles Jenkins' work, be it solo or with his band The Icecream Hands, bemoan the fact that Jenkins is a "criminally overlooked" songwriter. It's still true. The former Adelaide boy has a knack for crafting clever pop songs, ones that marry the Beatles with the Byrds while telling short stories of life's big and small moments. 'The City Gates' is the rock companion to Jenkins' quiet solo debut, the extremely impressive 'Bungalow'. While everything on this record is consistent, the chugging Open Road and the soulful pop extravaganzas Sailors Here, Brother Died Brother Wept and Baby I Wrote A Song For You (the latter evoking Van Morrison) are the standouts. Two Doctors exemplifies why Jenkins' writing is so sublimely good: Jenkins weaves together three seemingly unrelated stories - two women who leave their husbands for each other, a doctor who builds a scarecrow out of the bones of the women's thieving husbands, and the narrator's own psychological journey. Jenkins is at his best, though, on his own: as sympathetic as his studio band is, Jenkins' word play is most compelling in his more reflective moments (ie: Deepest Night and I Guess I Might). Perhaps on his next record, Jenkins will merge the best bits of 'Bungalow' and 'The City Gates', some marketing executive will conjure up a credible image, he'll write a hit song or two, and we can dispense with that annoying "criminally overlooked" tag. Alternatively, you can just go and buy this record and get the ball rolling now.  |
|
The latest issue available now!     |
All content copyright dB Magazine