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Elly Roberts reviews
XL Recordings
- October 2007
- Rating: 8/10
At just 23, Jack (Fabian) Penate is making serious waves on the music scene.
He’s light years ahead of his chronoligical age. Visually, on stage, hes a perplexingmix of Elviss swivel and some sort of yokel farm worker. Penate is no rocknrollthrowback, as his music is cutting edge 21st Century pop, with occassional attitude,when needed.
His debut is full of the promise his singles hinted at. In the songs, which havelarge dollops of his south London twang, especially the rushed ones, hes neverfar away from remembering what makes instant impressions. He can unload a goodbit of rockabilly swagger found on previous single Spit At Stars, thoughhes no budding Shakin Stevens.
He writes well, particularly the tender ones. My Yvonne can be nobody elsebut Penate, a strummed gem with glorious harmonies, heavenly backups, oh andthat simplest of drum thuds. Stripping things back, just a bit, bumpy soulinflected Learning Lines is another single contender.
Striking the indie zone, the throbbing rush of Second, Minute Or Hourshows hes a match for the Arctic Monkeys anyday, as is Run For Your Life.Got My Favourite… touches on Just Jack, a nifty dance beast with amonster chorus.
Going down the cool road, We Will Be Here is a song that defies his age,boosted by midway thrusting riffs, soaring vocals and lush orchestation. Justfor fun, he slaps down a rasping Ska blast for Torn On The Platform thatgoes on a freewheel mission to the dizzy heights of 1978.
A Jack of all trades.
This easy-on-the-ear clever eclectic mix kicks into action with bouncy MiddleAge, a take on the benefits of, well, middle age. With horn blasts, and steadybeat, he reflects on the virtues of middle age, though not melancholically, asthe upbeat brings a kind of celebration. An even catchier Strange Namesfollows,and possesses a Springsteen-like quality, with an almost full-on WallOf Sound, and funnily enough theres a New Jersey reference.
Then theres the atmospheric Simply Spalding Gray that ambles gentlywith windpipes texturising the gaps, after which he hits country mode on thesweet clog-happy Man I Miss That Girl, and in a similar frame he usespedal steel to bring out the melancholy of Youre Meant For Me. Best ofthe bunch is the mellow, mid-paced My Seaside Brown-Eyed Girl, which wouldmake an excellent single, and possibly reach the BBC Radio 2 playlist.
Crunching rocker The Baghdad Dream sees Forbert lash out at the Iraqinvasion, in the same way Neil Young had pop on Living With War. Reprisinghis best known song and US hit, Romeos Tune, he signs off with thisglorious, oh yes, Dylan-like classic.
Worth every penny.
Weblinks:jackpenate.com /myspace.com/jackpenate /xlrecordings.com
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Spit At Stars
2. Got My Favourite….
3. Have I Been A Fool ?
4. Torn On The Platform
5. Learning Lines
6. Run For Your Life
7. We Will Be Here
8. Made Of Codes
9. My Yvonne
10. Second, Minute Or Hour
11. When We Die
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.