Let's be Frank...

Props to Lee Jones who is about to release his debut album, 'Electronic Frank', on Will Saul's Aus label. Lee has consistently impressed me over the past few years -  and his pre-Berlin Hefner project before that wasn't bad -  either as part of MyMy or on his own. What I like about Jones's productions are the fact that they have a complexity without sounding busy, yet at the same time, only a few key elements do most of the work. Let me explain that more clearly by using an analogy. Jones's music is like a film or a play where there are  three or four main characters, but there are also supporting and cameo roles, and the interplay between these, the nuances and the subtleties that come from these interactions, are what make his music so interesting. 'Frank' is littered with off-beat rhythms, accordion samples, breathy French women being seductive, references to deep house, 80s Goth and 90s Warpy techno. It sounds like Jones picked sounds and samples at random, yet he still makes it sound like only he could have made it. The only criticism I have of 'Frank' is that it contains a few of Lee's singles -  'Kinder Country' and Safari', but not 'There Comes a Time'  - but once you hear the sweeping chords and unashamedly old school 'emotional' vibe of the new single, 'Mdmazing'  -  how self-conscious can you get? -  also on the album, all your gripes will melt away..

Comments

[Joe]

I tried to do this album justice in words a little while ago and ended up gushing incoherently - it defies description.
It's brilliant..