Just Jack - All Night Cinema (Mercury)
3/5
By: Tom Hocknell
The idea that Just Jack is the disposable hat in The Streets' cracker is not strictly fair - his songs might be 'poppier', but are as strong, and the delivery as eloquently sardonic, as anything Mike Skinner has done. Perhaps it's the massive hit ('Starz in their Eyes') on heavy rotation in Top Shop which over burdens him, but then The Streets have similar issues. Most importantly, alongside Skinner and Bobby Whiskers (amongst others), Jack Allsop demonstrates that white British boys can rap, particularly if they don't pretend to be black.
While moaning about the sequencing of albums these days is akin to complaining about the gauge of London's 1930's tram tracks, this album, once it gets over the 'trying- too-hard to write singles', finds its stride. The title track is an acoustic, urban lullaby - "sometimes I'm seeing strangers, sometimes I'm watching friends" - while 'Goth in the Disco' almost hits the high of the last album's rave-eulogy 'No Time'. 'Lo and Behold' has poetic grace, learning from others mistakes, and great couplets abound, such as on the indie-pop-punk of 'Doctor Doctor', brilliantly describing a girl as being "mostly chorus, not verse".
The disco and funk influenced hip-hop here is affectionate, as opposed to laboured, and there are wry London-observations that are missing, for example, from the latter Streets albums.
The single, 'Embers', burns (appropriately), to a melodic coda, while '253's (yes, it's a bus: from Euston to Camden if you're interested) tragic "at first she was all I could ever see", tracks the decline of a relationship, with harmonica accompaniment, while the kitchen sink reportage (revealing how many Weetabix he eats for breakfast) continues with Allsop's personal favourite 'The Day I Died'.
Admittedly it's no great departure, and doesn't necessarily improve on the excellent previous album 'Overtones'. But charmingly, Jack remains that bloke in the nightclub; the sort you share earth-embracing revelations with, which are only half-remembered in the morning.
Artists in this article: Just Jack
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