Deceptive Power-Pop
Cardinal Jack are something of a mystery to me. Their 10 track album, "We Shall Start The Dance" has all the features of a modern power-pop album, which taken at face value should be offensive to the ears, but somehow... it isn't. Don't get me wrong, the album isn't groundbreaking or musically accomplished but if you'll bear with me, I'll explain why "We Shall Start The Dance" is an O.K album.
Despite sounding like almost every other power-pop band out there, Cardinal Jack have some serious redeeming features. Firstly, Every song off the album has this eerie quality to it, almost as if something is missing. But Wait! What do you mean? How can a song be any good at all if something seems like it is missing? Well, there's this spectral dissonance, almost like an empty ballroom echo that haunts each song off "We Shall Start the Dance" and somehow manages to imbue each track with a thick extra layer of emotion. Yes, this may have something to do with the production of the album, but if the band is able to recreate the same feeling live, they certainly have an edge over the other bands in their genre.
On the topic of production, there is the band's second redeeming feature. "We Shall Start The Dance" was recorded and released through the University of Herefordshire's own record label UHRecordings. Now that's pretty cool. Not only does a British university have its own freakin' record label, UHRecordings have a mindblowingly obvious yet unbelievably unique plan. They exist to offer students across the country the opportunity to gain valuable experience in writing, recording and producing their own album. What better way to ensnare talented musicians than catching them straight out of university, where an inordinate number of bands are founded.
Lastly, Cardinal Jack's other redeeming feature are their formation. Everybody loves a creation myth (Just ask one of the 2.2 billion Christians.) It may seem simple, but after a night out on the London tiles, Paul Eton, Tom Williamson and Martin Kempson decided to have a jam. Not content with how the session was panning out, the guys swapped instruments and ideas until they came up with the song "Day and Night" which is featured on the album. Inspiring and simple. Simple and honest. That's the thing about Cardinal Jack. The music may be average, but it's goddamned honest, and that is certainly a quality missing from most bands in the 21st century.