Jack Breakfast - Rock and Roll Album
(Troubled Cat)
For anyone who's ever read any of my reviews, you might know that I don't really fancy "emotional" music. And that doesn't even take into account my hatred for River City High and the Get Up Kids! Nevermind. Jack Breakfast isn't really emo, in a true sense. Rock and Roll Album, while it might get kind of emotional, never reaches that level of unintentional-parody that today's emo does, and it always has a heap of sincerity in each song.
Combining piano, brushed drums, a little acoustic guitar, and Jack's instantly distinguishable voice (think a less ear-straining Dan Bejar or Neil Young if he were a baritone), Rock and Roll Album is a perfect portrait of Canadian winter (did I mention he's from Toronto?) spent with someone you love. Opening with the title track, and the words "Tonight I gave you my rock and roll album," and presenting a really interesting--albeit short--tune which mixes in some accordion and electric instruments into its shuffling beat. The next track, "Dukes of Eglinton," lays on the piano and some fuzz to create an extremely pretty and moving piece. Probably the strongest track on the disc, with Jack's speak-sing dominating, rising during the chorus with a somewhat dissonant electric guitar, and "jazzing things up" with a pretty spicy drum beat (did I just write that?).
The only complaint I can lodge in Jack's direction is that his voice can get a bit grating after awhile. But that's just minor nitpicking: this is a strong album that puts Southern Ontario on the map and shows that Vancouver is not the only place in Canada to find pretty, endearing indie-pop that's clever, not saccharine.
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