Falling down
Jack Johnson's un-expected Brit award win seems to have opened up the flood gates for a stream of like minded (insipid, uninspired and frankly M.O.R.) jam bands to invade British shores. ALO [Animal Liberation Orchestra] are one of a clutch of bands to have benefited from Johnson's patronage and their debut album 'Fly Between Falls' (released on Johnson's Bushfire Records imprint) treads the kind of derivative path one would expect from the outset.
The album kicks off with 'Spectrum' a laboured take on world music, its slick but annoyingly repetitive guitar motif hammering away at the listener's consciousness without the slightest hint of any subtlety. The first half of the album is particularly dull with the appropriately titled 'Wasting Time' coming across as an approximation of what Jamiroquai would sound like if they lacked any real urgency. It's cod soul-funk for people who regard Craig David as the last word in cutting edge soul pop. 'Girl I Wanna Lay You Down' (featuring a guest vocal from the aforementioned Johnson) is similarly awful, lyrically cliché ridden and polished to within an inch of it's life. Thankfully a brief respite arrives around the mid-way point in the shape of 'Barbecue'. Despite the terrible title and the cringe worthy lyrics, "Welcome to your barbeque // where we roast all the dreams that never came true // welcome to your barbeque // Pig out and dream anew", it shows the band at their best. Its sparkling guitars perfectly complimenting the laid back feel to the track. The next number 'Possibly Drown' stands head and shoulders above the grey mass of what passes before it. A perfect slice of sun dappled funk it's one of a handful of numbers that doesn't have this reviewer reaching for the fast forward button.
This gradual improvement in quality continues into the second half of the album. The piano led 'Shapeshifter' shows promise and a rare sight of eclecticism while the upbeat alt-country-ish 'Waiting for Jaden' suggests the band would perhaps be better suited to a change in musical direction. The musicianship on this album is unquestionably tight and the production is as smooth as a baby's backside but it all sounds so clinically dull. There's no joie de vivre here, no real passion and crucially no experimentation within the band's tightly defined sound template. This would be nigh on palatable if heaven forbid the band actually varied the tempo on each track a little but sadly that would be tantamount to asking Jodie Marsh to put on some nice clothes that actually cover her body once in a while. Radio 2 listeners and casual CD shoppers will no doubt rush out and purchase this with glee (alongside the latest turgid offering from James Blunt) but Room Thirteen readers would be well advised to steer clear of such flagrantly commercial nonsense. This record may 'fly' in the commercial stakes but it's destined to 'fall' in the critical.