The south will rise again.
'And Then, Nothing' is the debut album from Jackson Analogue, a band with deep Blues influnced rock who come straight out of Isle Of Wight. It's a very straight back to basics feel, which of course isn't a bad thing. First song, 'Day Is Done' has a touch of garage rock with more than a passing resemblance to Kings Of Leon, with that stomping beat and 70's riffs. 'Stop' has a melody that is driven by keyboards, and a solid backbeat, so what you get is a simply constructed song, that builds up to a shouting chorus.
Historically it's sometimes been hard to become successful with this retro feel, however with bands like Kings Of Leon, The Strokes, and even bands like Razorlight and White Stripes, there are elements of taking the musically simple ethos of rock'n'roll and added the lyrical struggle of nowadays. 'Janis' has a nod towards the underrated masters of Southern Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd, in the great vocals that powerfully and tunefully blast out in a slightly rasping bluesy/rock kind of way. Great stuff. 'Concrete Hands' is a little too much like a ballad by Travis for me, which is good or bad depending on what you think of the said band, before things are a little more traditional rock with the big riffs and a mid-tempo song that is a little like Zepplin in, 'Buffalo', which could also be said of next song, 'Walking Zombie'.
'All Alone' is a great song, and although is predominantly a simple song, there are enough levels to give the song more of an edge, whereby the musical lead jumps from, the keyboards, to the riffs and then with big vocal hooks. It's a lovely smash of blues-rock. 'Disco' is a nice slightly folky song that is a little like a lullaby mixed with a Soul Asylum ballad. It's beautiful and tuneful with the keyboard melody that will have you either listening intently, or drifting off to a land of slumber.
There is more Kings Of Leon, with, 'West Of Here', before last song, 'Moodyman Left' takes you on a gentle journey toward the end of the album. So what you get here is a band that shows much promise, however whether this is something that people will be wanting to spend their hard earned money on still remains uncertain. The band's strengths lie with the great vocal talents of Rob Homes, who has a strong and powerful voice that sounds full of experience and authority. This isn't to say that there is anything wrong with the rest of the band, as musically everything sounds very competent, it's just that there isn't much originality here.
The album starts off strong but loses it's way halfway through, and so you're left with long ballads that blend into one. It's a shame because at times I think that Jackson Analogue sound a bit like what Lynyrd Skynyrd would if they were coming out now, however, they have new members and have gone down a more country feel, and so with bands like Jackson Analogue, you can no longer rely on sounding like another Kings Of Leon, or The Strokes. It's harsh, but it's the music industry. Good, but not great!