ARTiST: Jackdaw4
ALBUM: The Eternal Struggle For Justice
BiTRATE: 208kbps avg
QUALiTY: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.97 Final / -V2 --vbr-new / 44.100Khz
LABEL: Too Many Robots
GENRE: Rock
SiZE: 62.81 megs
PLAYTiME: 0h 39min 59sec total
RiP DATE: 2010-08-28
STORE DATE: 2010-08-27
Track List:
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01. The Eternal Struggle For 4:15
Justice
02. Everyone Becomes The Road They 3:54
Take
03. Wire To The Wire 3:31
04. We Sold It All 5:07
05. Waiting To Die 3:46
06. Someone Who Cares 3:13
07. Wonderful 4:00
08. Pornography 4:40
09. The Great Unknown 3:57
10. Baby I'm A Killer 3:36
Release Notes:
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Jackdaw4 is considered one of the best modern power pop bands out there, with 2
stellar releases (Gramophone Logic, and Bipolar Diversions) I was prepared for
another fantastic production. "Eternal Struggle for Justice" starts out with a
lurching organ and dark tone more suited to Bryan Scary, than Jellyfish -
although an angelic choral break at the songs middle is more like it. Then the
blare of a Motown styled horn section greets us on "Everyone Becomes The Road
They Take" and it's clear the album has a more varied theatrical theme. It isn't
as immediate as it's predecessors, but there are plenty of great songs here. One
gem for sure is the brilliant power ballad "We Sold It All," starting with a
gentle McCartney-like melody that evolves into a rich rock guitar tapestry full
of Queen-like touches, you almost expect it to be a finale... but these guys are
just getting started. Fans of XTC will love the macabre melodies like "Waiting
To Die" and "Wonderful" taking the listener on a compelling journey full of rich
imagery. These songs intercut dramatic piano and heavy guitar with contrasting
sweet melodic breaks in the chorus, especially in "Wonderful" where it feels
like an entire album's worth of themes are condensed into four minutes. The big
melodic jewel in this album's crown is "Pornography" with a boogie beat piano
melody that recalls ELO and cascading harmonies that flourish each verse, all
about "Pornography, sweetest of views for a boy like me." Another gem is the
strong anthem "The Great Unknown" full of horns and guitars. The ending song
"Baby, I'm a Killer" has a gorgeous chorus in this Brian Wilson influenced gem.
So yes, the band comes through in spectacular fashion, in fact it would be easy
to picture this album as a hit musical soundtrack.