| This Week's Highlights |
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analysis w/e 14.5.11 |
DVDs out 9.5.11 |
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@ DVDfever Youtube |
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May 11 2011 
DVDfever co uk
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At just 23, Jack (Fabian) Penate is making serious waves on the music scene. He's light years ahead of his chronoligical age. Visually, on stage, he’s a perplexing mix of Elvis’s swivel and some sort of yokel farm worker. Penate is no rock’n’roll throwback, as his music is cutting edge 21st Century pop, with occassional attitude, when needed. His debut is full of the promise his singles hinted at. In the songs, which have large dollops of his south London twang, especially the rushed ones, he’s never far away from remembering what makes instant impressions. He can unload a good bit of rockabilly swagger found on previous single Spit At Stars, though he’s no budding Shakin’ Stevens.
He writes well, particularly the tender ones. My Yvonne can be nobody else but Penate, a strummed gem with glorious harmonies, heavenly backups, oh and that simplest of drum thuds. Stripping things back, just a bit, bumpy soul inflected Learning Lines is another single contender. Striking the indie zone, the throbbing rush of Second, Minute Or Hour shows he’s a match for the Arctic Monkeys anyday, as is Run For Your Life. Got My Favourite... touches on Just Jack, a nifty dance beast with a monster chorus. Going down the cool road, We Will Be Here is a song that defies his age, boosted by midway thrusting riffs, soaring vocals and lush orchestation. Just for fun, he slaps down a rasping Ska blast for Torn On The Platform that goes on a freewheel mission to the dizzy heights of 1978. A Jack of all trades.
This easy-on-the-ear clever eclectic mix kicks into action with bouncy Middle Age, a take on the benefits of, well, middle age. With horn blasts, and steady beat, he reflects on the virtues of middle age, though not melancholically, as the upbeat brings a kind of celebration. An even catchier Strange Names follows,and possesses a Springsteen-like quality, with an almost full-on Wall Of Sound, and funnily enough there’s a New Jersey reference. Then there’s the atmospheric Simply Spalding Gray that ambles gently with windpipes texturising the gaps, after which he hits country mode on the sweet clog-happy Man I Miss That Girl, and in a similar frame he uses pedal steel to bring out the melancholy of You’re Meant For Me. Best of the bunch is the mellow, mid-paced My Seaside Brown-Eyed Girl, which would make an excellent single, and possibly reach the BBC Radio 2 playlist. Crunching rocker The Baghdad Dream sees Forbert lash out at the Iraq invasion, in the same way Neil Young had pop on Living With War. Reprising his best known song and US hit, Romeo’s Tune, he signs off with this glorious, oh yes, Dylan-like classic. Worth every penny.
Weblinks: jackpenate.com / myspace.com/jackpenate / xlrecordings.com
The full list of tracks included are :
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier. PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
