Arkells - Jackson Square album review

First things first. I'm breaking down this album old-school: track by track. Secondly, to give a bit of perspective on the band, I always tell people that Arkells sound like The Trews...if The Trews were better. Basically, they take all that catchy, in-your-face, two-guitar, bass, drums and keyboard assault, and subtract all the cock-rock and dumb lyrics. The final product ends up being a really pleasing and almost cathartic experience in modern "indie rock" music.

These guys have been playing shows all over Canada recently, and it's only a matter of time before they blow up on the national scene. Their live shows are packed with energy, and they play great sets full of songs off Jackson Square, along with some improvisations and crowd-involving gimmicks that just add to the fun that accompanies catching these guys in concert. On to the album though:

"Deadlines" | As inauspicious of an album-starter as you could pick. The slow drumming build-up, a few crashes, all the instruments coming in, and then Max's voice giving a little intro of what it's like to work the corporate life. This song actually sets the theme pretty well for the album, as it's a very working-class band putting together a very working-class album. "Deadlines" is fast and short, but if it doesn't pump you up for the rest of the album, you might want to check your pulse.

"Pullin' Punches" | This one picks up right where "Deadlines" trails off, albeit with a much happier tilt. "Pullin' Punches" is a bit of a heartfelt rocker, a little ode to that truthful girl in your life, with a hint of sympathy in there for all she's been through. There's a few good break-downs of the song, a lot of pacing changes, and a sense of urgency throughout - which sums up Arkells pretty well in fact. This is a group that performs with a sense of urgency, like they know the spotlight could fade any minute, and they make the best of it while they can. Of course, that could also be because the last time I saw them, they only had a half-hour to belt out their set...

"Oh, The Boss Is Coming" | OTBIC veers off a darker road, but keeps that same fast pace and worker's mentality set out before it. This song is probably lead singer Max Kerman's most impassioned vocal performance, with his yelps and throaty singing conveying perfectly the very literal anxiousness of an office worker who's probably not up to much, and is constantly looking over their shoulder to make sure the boss isn't catching them doing so. OTBIC is one Arkells have taken and extended a bit live, with Max leading a neat call-and-response with the audience during the "punching in/punching out" lines.

"Ballad of Hugo Chavez" | I may have mentioned "Ballad" on here before, but it's certainly one of the stand-out tracks on Jackson Square. Arkells aren't one of those groups that put obscure names to their songs for art's sake; this is quite literally a lyrical re-telling of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez's trials and tribulations preceding his rise to power...all told over the scat of a saxophone and pop-y piano chords. Again, I'm a sucker for piano, so this song can do no wrong by me - and between the "hey hey hey!"s and "in the niii-iiight/of the sun"s that establish the catchiest chorus these guys have, I don't see how it ever could.

"Tragic Flaw" | It's a debut album, so there's gonna be some filler in Jackson Square, but thankfully, they built the album so that it comes in after four rousing jams. Some people might like this song a little more than I do, but it just doesn't do anything for me. It's a bit of a downer in some parts, but what it does the worst is pander to a lot of what's out there already on the radio, in terms of Canadian rock groups who are trying just a tad too hard to make it. It still has some of the signature Arkells melodies, but it's certainly nothing special.

"No Champagne Socialist" | Still continuing the worker trend of the album, NCS starts with a great harmonica blast, and then slows down for Max to set the scene: "let the record show, it's 1964/in the city of New York." Another sympathetic song, but this time for the guy trying to live on "both sides of the track" - a well-to-do Jewish kid who doesn't want the same life his family's had for so long. You'd think the subject matter would certainly curtail the tune from being played at concerts with any amount of success, but between the impassioned harmonica playing, the well-done southern rock (these guys know their rock, and don't just stick to one kind of it), and the awesome guitar solo closing the song out, "No Champagne Socialist" is kind of Arkells' ace in the hole.

"Abigail" | I guess this is how a rock ballad like "Tragic Flaw" should've been done. Which is really saying something for Arkells - they may make mistakes as a young group, but within the span of one song, they've already corrected it. The instrumentality of all their tunes really keeps them going, even when the lyrics are busy painting a story or telling a cautionary tale. "Abigail" tinges with sorrow for a girl who doesn't quite understand why the guy in her life does the things he does, and may be feeling a little lost, as evidenced by "where did all the good plans go?" Add to the mix a bit of a heartstring-tugging go at the guitar, and Arkells save yet another sappy tune from coming off all too emo and self-pleasing. I can't really recall them playing "Abigail" live, but they certainly have the tools to turn it into something concert-worthy, even in its present form.

"Heart Of The City" | Probably not one of my favorite tracks off Jackson Square. A little too earnest and lyrically stuttering for my liking. It also veers off the path the rest of the album sets out, meaning it's a bit abstract and doesn't really follow the story-telling/workforce/down-trodden girl routine the rest of the album touts. "Heart Of The City" wouldn't be so bad if I actually knew what singer Max Kerman's trying to get at in the big picture, and also if the rest of the band was able to elevate the song to the level something with this kind of title deserves.

"I'm Not The Sun" | These few songs right here point out I guess, the, uh, "Tragic Flaw" of Jackson Square (sorry). Whereas most albums would just be hitting their stride around the mid-point, it becomes clear right about here that Arkells did that with the first half of the album, and sadly the second half suffers for that. "I'm Not The Sun" is too much of a slow-burner, coming down to a level even Kings Of Leon on painkillers might feel is a tad too lethargic. For anyone familiar with Only By The Night, this is Arkells' version of "Closer" or "Cold Desert," those largely instrumental and emotive jaunts into territory best reserved for groups who know how to do that better (think Coldplay). Otherwise, KoL and Arkells should just stick to the straightforward rock that got them to where they are in the first place.

"The Choir" | By this point, it's like they're slapping you in the face. You were really pumped up by the first half of the album, waiting to see where these rising stars were going to take it next...then they slow it down for "I'm Not The Sun" and keep it at that pace yet again. Max just sounds sad and forlorn here, and the track really only moves in fits and bursts. The sappy-sounding chorus is a zone Arkells should stay out of, and the church-and-death tinged lyrics don't do them much justice either. There may be great intention behind this song, but the execution is sadly lacking.

"John Lennon" | Just as it's all becoming a bit too much to bear, one of my favorite tracks of 2009 shows up to save the album. Like a lot of the songs I like the most, it's sometimes hard to put into words what it is that makes me love it so much. There's a bit of saxophone jumping in and adding the right amount of diversity, there's the rousing "I'm John Lennon/in '67" chorus, the persistent keyboard stabs, the pick-it-up-and-rock-it-out interludes, the slow-it-down "I'm so lost...and I live just around the corner!" right before the chorus, and the side-to-side sway of the band during the chorus itself. "John Lennon" is full of everything that's right about Arkells, and has the most diverse presentation of their skills on Jackson Square. In concert, the false ending is that much better, the actual ending is the high point of their shows, and Max looks like he's possibly having the most fun of anyone up there relaying the story of a drunken night on the town.

"Blueprint" | This along with "John Lennon" really dispells the bad taste in your mouth coming from the middle third of the album. Again, I don't think they play it live (probably because the sax is featured a little more prominently here, and they don't tour with a sax player) but there's no reason they couldn't. The stadium-rock ready chorus of "No I ain't/gonna fear/the new year!" and the chugging band behind Max make for a most optimistic end to a great debut album. With the catchy choruses, great musicianship, and attention-grabbing concerts they have going for them, Arkells certainly have no reason to fear anything, let alone a new year for the boys to prove themselves to rock fans all over Canada.

Arkells on MySpace

Jackson Square on Amazon