Album Review: Samuel Jackson Five – Goodbye Melody Mountain

ah the old sun pyramid cover

 

Let’s get this out of the way first and formost, this is a great album. If you like guitars that play notes and drums that make noise then your in luck, this is your album!  Now that I’ve told you this we can all go home and order this album…oh..hold on…ok…right, you want me to tell you what it sounds like? why its good? ok ok

This group from Oslo, Norway plays Dun Dun Dunnnnn post rock. BUT SHAUN YOU JUST TORE APART SAXON SHORE’S LATEST ALBUM AND THATS POST ROCK! Reeelax, where as theres was a sleepwalk fest through dad and mom’s card party, Samuel Jackson gives us a template that many similiar bands should follow in the 2000’s.  This is a fun album and certainly not your sad sack post rock that makes you think of sleigh rides in the winter(though theres nothing wrong with that either).  The reason why it works so well is that the build ups are actually interesting and add to the song.  Where as most is a waiting game to see how awesome the guitar pummeling will be in the last 30 seconds I never found myself to be watching the track time. 

The fact is interesting things are happening constantly in their music and theres always some new intrument popping its head into the groove.  Flute, cello, violin, horns  all make lasting impressions throughout while not sounding like gimmicks.  The two guitarists especially pay close attention to melody, making each guitar line as joyful as the next such as on “So many Cowboys, so few Indians” where the bass gives both guitars room to wiggle around each other.  Drums largely keep to grounding the proceedings but closer attention reveals that they are not as conventional as once thought.  As i sat down to air drum some of the parts i realized that there are time changes hiding throughout and some pretty interesting fills. 

While not everything here is completely perfect like most things and this is but a small gripe in an otherwise splendid performance.  Lets face it, the title track goes nowhere and heads off into nothing.  It does kind of make sense in context to the other songs but its one i tend to skip over.  Otherwise go out and get this album as soon as possible.

 

RATING: A DELICIOUS CHICKEN DINNER WITH MASHED POTATOES AND GRAVY (OR MEAL OF EQUAL AWESOMENESS)

SOUNDS LIKE: POST ROCK, YOU KNOW THE DRILL.

www.myspace.com/thesamueljacksonfive