Pictured: Rage unplugged.
Jack O’Connor is a singer/songwriter from EC with a lot on his mind. His melodies borrow heavily from indie heavyweight, Elliott Smith. Where some would become lost in an homage to Smith, O’Connor is a deft enough songwriter to forge a songwriting identity all his own.
It’s a style of music that has been done so often, but rarely as well as this. Indie folk at times can be in danger of being too hip for itself. O’Connor sidesteps this with earnest lyrics that never tread very far into cliche or cynicism. He wants to help sort some shit out, not just the listener, but also for himself.
It helps that O’Connor is backed by tight, minimalist guitar playing and egg shakers. It’s a recording that sounds like it could have been (and maybe was done) in a kitchen or living room. It’s the sort of thing that sounds like it comes easily, but takes a deceptive amount of musical know-how to pull off.
There’s a great guitar solo at the end of this song. O’Connor doesn’t hem and haw on the strings. He doesn’t shred or push his fingers into a spasmic frenzy. It’s just right. I can’t think of a better way to describe O’Connor than to say that. It’s just right.
Comments 3
Not as good as The Wars of 1812.
Posted 18 Apr 2008 at 6:09 pm ¶Hey JJP, I’m in the band with your teacher, Mr. Pisano. I totally appreciate that you checked out this website and that you like our band, but there’s no reason to put others down in order to show your loyalty to us! Jack is a very talented songwriter, performer, and recording artist. His style of music is different from ours but I really admire what he does. Show some love, JJP!
Posted 21 Apr 2008 at 8:52 am ¶Love it. I’m a huge Elliott Smith fan, and I have to say his voice is scary close to his. But as Ian said this (and I’m sure his other tracks as well) definitely hold it’s own. It’s easy to compare people’s music to whats been done before, but I have to say that this is a breath of fresh air into a pretty played area.
Posted 14 Jun 2008 at 2:28 pm ¶Post a Comment