Are modern musicians still trying to fix something within themselves? Or, are they simply trying to fix something within their budget and trying to deal with the anxiety of hardly ever doing it enough to make ends meet? A quick listen to the charts, to songs that feel like they were made in 5 minutes, with credits that read like the roster of a football team, should give you a hint.
But, just how much time do you spend with your favourite records? Don’t you find yourself in hard times replaying one song or another hundreds and hundreds of times as if trying to solve some colossal problem by hearing it? Well, it sounds like you’re spending more emotion on the music than the artists seem to do.
Thankfully, there are exceptions. Common Jack is proving to be a most uncommon artist, delivering a melancholy-soaked, but hopeful album, “It Would Be Enough,” that could just be the soundtrack to a Saturday morning spent in bed ruminating about life, and the jet fuel for an afternoon chasing meaningful happiness.
It’s all in the sound too, not merely in the intention behind the tunes. The album’s designed like a circle and thus begins with “Reprise,” a Fleet Foxes-like prayer for remembrance and deliverance.
And if that feels like heady stuff, don’t worry. Common Jack’s songs are easy to enjoy. “Keep It Easy,” at its core, has a sweet pop-rock groove and lyrics about seeking relief and letting things flow. It leads to a strong musical payoff, a hook whose backing vocals bring to mind 1980s radio pop.
Indeed, if this is a spiritual exploration, Common Jack makes sure not to make hearing his confessions feel like a chore. In fact, there are plenty of bona fide pop moments to keep the casual listener interested all the way through, such as the vocal harmonies and brass section that make their entrance on the gentle “Your Side of the Bed,” or the country-infused melodies and instrumentation of “Wearing Thin.”
Still, with your confidence properly won over, Common Jack does allow for moments of quiet introspection. The fingerpicked acoustic guitar of “To Live is to Lose” leads to a beautiful orchestra-backed chorus. And “Let In” is a delicate, smooth ballad and the closest that the album has to a modern pop track.
Where does it all leave us? On the lookout to lose the tension that plagues most of us. Common Jack has certainly felt it, and the best method he’s found is to put it all inside nicely orchestrated, soulfully sung tunes. It’s music to get you accustomed to surprisingly late-in-year Autumns and make you hopeful of the inevitable Spring.
