This little gem dropped in my letter box the other day… I will admit, as a fan of MyMy and much of the Aus music label releases I am a bit behind in finally giving this album a listen.
If you are familiar with MyMy, enjoy their minimal house sound and the brilliance of their 2006 release “Songs For The Gentle”, Lee Jones (MyMy) carries the flag 10 steps forward with this measured and calculated release.
What is nice about this album is that is just that, an album. The arrangement of tracks have a nice development throughout, culminating in the bizarrely (yet aptly) named “MDMazing” which brings out the best in Jones’ house production abilities. Yet the explosive and euphoric nature of this last track on the album is preceded by a largely low key collection of songs. While the arrangements are dazzling in their complexity, with subtle samples, synth lines and clicks throughout, rippling rhythm through songs in a way only Lee Jones can… there is still a lack of any explosion or release in the tunes themselves.
This pulsing power that lies unreleased beneath the music is however what drives this album. Without that explosion the album gets locked into a driving house groove that will take you into a daze… along the way you can expect an array of noises, orchestral samples, plonky piano and subtle tom fills. “Beginn” introduces you into Jones’ wacky world of ridiculous rhythm, and while his production brilliance will carry you through to “Fun Runner” with some seriously low grooves along the way, the album hits a creative low point in the middle.
Exercising muscles in sub woofer that you never knew existed with songs like “Theme for Frank” and “Soon” (which samples a nice female vocal loop mixing things up on a mainly instrumental album) the album sticks to a very mid range sound.. these low grooves are pleasing and entertaining… but you wonder could he have pushed it a little further by the time he reaches “Honey and Ginger” or “Roadwork”, taken a few more chances perhaps and experimented? These songs do nothing to devalue the quality of the release, however they fail to push the album forward in any way, leaving you wondering if these songs were a missed opportunity.
This probably being the main reason why the album dips in the middle…”Honey and Ginger” and “Kinder Country” fail to deliver on a high point that the listener is by this point desperate for… you start to wonder if all this building is going to go anywhere!
“The Secret” however starts to lift the album off the ground. Washes of synth and uplifting melodies are far more pleasing than the previous deep grooves.. “Every Click Matters” is a delight in sampling rhythm and the guitar sampling gives the landscape a depth that had been missing in the middle tracks – a subtle vocal sample is also a welcome feature.. you can really hear the production brilliance that Lee Jones is capable of coming through here. “It is, Isn’t It” has a bizarre big band sample featuring horn lines that leave you wondering how he makes it work in a techno album – yet it does… and it sounds great! “MDMazing” leaving you satisfied that the build was worth the wait… even if it was a long time coming!
Lee Jones here has released an album that is for the most part extremely safe and restrained, sticking to mid range sounds and only really letting loose in the last 4 songs. However the album features the rhythmic production that Lee Jones is so well known for. Some could argue that the “sound” of Lee Jones is only really attainable in those mid range to deep grooves that feature for the bulk of this album.. the restraint simply a product of his style.. and it is quite hard to argue with the fact that every inch of this album is honed to absolute perfection, as the song title “Every Click Matters” would clearly suggest.
A big thumbs up from me, quite happy that the sound of MyMy is living on in this extremely well produced release.
I have featured this album on my Black Box Podcast (No.26) and at dirty.radio.
Lee Jones – Electronic Frank
01. Beginn*
02. Theme for Frank*
03. Soon*
04. White Rabbit
05. Fun Runner
06. Honey & Ginger
07. Kinder Country
08. Roadwork
09. Shoe Shine
10. The Secret*
11. Every Click Matters*
12. It Is Isn’t It
13. Safari
14. MDMAzing*
*reviewers picks
