Issue 512

Jonny Jonny Popfrenzy Records 'Jonny' is not a man; it's a project comprising of Euros Childs from Welsh band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, and Norman Blake from Scotland's Teenage Fanclub. Combining a love, indeed possibly a debt to the likes of Belle & Sebastian and Big Star , the whimsical opener Wich Is Wich is a perfect sub two-minute pop song, the chorus being replete with a level of insouciance missing from some of the try hards in this genre, while the Casio keyboard brings back memories good and not so good from that instruments' heyday. Candyfloss plunders the rich seam of pop further, with oh-so-catchy hooks that flow along like a bubbling brook, while Goldmine is perhaps the rock/pop song that Belle & Sebastian might do behind closed doors. The circumspect Circling The Sun though, slows things down; typical Belle & Sebastian, but still a fine song none the less. Spooky is the very psychedelic pop of Bread, its wonderful harmonies sweeping over the keyboards like a curtain. There's even a nod to mid 60's surf/stomp bands with the out there Cave Dance, again the harmonies carrying all before it. And let's not forget the nod to country with the quickstep melody on I'll Make Her My Best Friend, a pleasant jig. Rarely does an album come along that holds you for its entirety. With 'Jonny', the secret is revealed by a combination of excellent songwriting, musicianship, and succinctness in the tracks, which average around two and a half minutes each, allowing you to come back again and again with ease. This may prove to be the best pop debut of this year, and indeed for many years to come. Mark Liebelt