Country : Sweden
Year : 2011
Label : Universal Music
Genre : Pop; Rock; Acoustic; Jazzy; Melancholic Pop
Web Site : Jay-Jay Johanson Last Fm Page
Jay-Jay Johanson is born in Trollhatton, Sweden in 1969. His music is melancholic, sometimes, other times happy-ironic. Accepted is in itself the things of Nick Drake and Nick Cave, a mixture mixed with beautiful piano melodies and miniatures. Do not doubt, that this album has them these defining his music components. The lyrics are heavy - for the general human anguish, love, loneliness. Look at some songs titles from his new double album "Spellbound" - "Shadows"; "The Girl I Love Is Gone"; "Out Of Focus"; "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore"; "Suicide Is Painless"; "The Thrill Is Gone"; "My Mothers Grave"; "She's Mine But I'm Not Hers"; "I'm Older Now" - which directly refer to minor thoughts, and although their names they are among the best songs in the album. The album is double, as I mentioned, the second disc is called "Looking Glass (New Acoustic Versions)", and as understood by its name, contains mostly acoustic pieces.
There are stunning acoustic guitars, beautiful piano, which attracts your soul with each every chord. Feels also light jazz atmosphere, plus great music-making, that can not go unnoticed. And in "Blind" is almost surely, that you can mess up and you wonder, whether Nick Drake is resurrected and reincarnated in Jay-Jay Johanson.
This is one wonderful composition that has a fiddle orchestrations and a wonderful voice. The story is for this, that when you find the love, all before that happen bend to thoughts, that you are was blind, and how not seen it before. His drenched with pain and realization voice in "Suicide Is Painless" is beautiful and song despite all sad moments is positive, as it can go after a hard period. To thinking ahead. The title "Spellbound" is 34 seconds miniature with dissonant drums, slightly marked and the voice of Jay-Jay, which is an idea more minor than in the "Blind". "Far Away" is pleasant piano reminiscence where you can feel John Lennon, jazz, pensive blues and entirely your own thoughts, which resonate and are unfolded as a stretched accordion.
Weak songs missing here, if by poor you mean melancholy, jazzy miniatures, played on piano, fiddle, double bass and voice, the record in this case is not for you. Because it is full of such beauties.
Two discs and many minutes of music for thinking, introspection, love, seeking. And do not bother not a bit, which song to pick. And here, in any composition you can discover what a wonderful songwriter and composer is Jay-Jay Johanson. Overwhelms me charm and serenity while listening to fifth from second CD - "Believe In Us", which is both a classical sounding piano, but at the same time close to the balladic pop sound. Think in direction of Elton John meet Rufus Wainwright, but with a light tinge of melancholy in the overall sound.
"The Chain" has one of the most romantic lyrics, which I've listen lately, alongside those of new albums by Cilla Jane and Death Cab For Cutie - respectively "Until Morning Comes" and "Codes And Keys". Oh, yes, there it is:
"I would like to take a walk with you.
But I'm scared it's gonna rain.
Just a picnic in the park for two.
But the gardener will complain."
"I've been follow by the worst of luck.
Maybe you can break this chain.
Come with me, come with me.
Darling can't you see.
I'm in love."
Leaves me staring and inside the song. "The Chain" is a killer, woven from perfection piece. Play it on your girlfriend often, it happens magics. I mean, magic is waiting to be unlocked, and this happens with a song like "The Chain", with each next listening becomes more beautiful and grows in you.
Any song to catch, the piano in it would be class - even jazzy chamber (but beautiful), sometimes with a pinch of classic. At times melancholy surrounds compositions can you come more, but the musical spirit, and gently hinted jazz it'll speak, that you listening to a well-made, complete music, and that's the truth. The second disc is with acoustic variations, which reveal the depth in the composing of slow, melodic pop, jazzy pieces of Jay-Jay Johanson. The songs on it are a bit more melancholic - with sad piano parties, melodious, approaching to your heart, to embraced it with truths of the world and love.
Take these lines from "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore" - "Since she's been gone, there's nobody here. To catch me when I fall" - and you will feel painful, labored contemplation and loneliness that is imbued in them.
This album will like of those people listening to as classical, and jazz, pop, blues, at least because it covers all these styles and mixes them in a pleasant, melodious, close, emotional music, containing pieces of homogeneous melancholy.
With such albums is nice to be slightly sad, believe me, I felt it.
