Andrew Jackson Jihad - Christmas Island (Album Review)
Friday, 09 May 2014
Written by Huw Baines
Taking on a new Andrew Jackson Jihad record is not a suitable task for the faint of heart, as it’s something that requires willingness to enter the world of Sean Bonnette, which is at times overwhelmingly sad, hilarious, colourful and loaded with pop culture references and in-jokes.
‘Christmas Island’ is the result of a change in approach, with Bonnette curing a case of writer’s block by taking advice from John Congleton, who’s on production duties here. Congleton told Bonnette to simply write, casting off any preconceptions or anxiety about form that he might have.
The result is a record that pares back many of the sharper edges of its predecessor, ‘Knife Man’, with acoustic guitar and bass returning to the forefront, along with hints of classic pop songwriting. The endearing melodies provide balance to lyrics that span outlandish wordplay and considered points, with plenty of dead bodies, cannibals and baseball bats thrown in for good measure.
Having largely abandoned the apocalyptic theme that was his focus early in the writing process, with the exception of a few songs, Bonnette has crafted a personal record that possesses enough layers and references to make its mark with a lot of people.
We get a Linda Ronstadt-prompted breakdown, memes repurposed as tribute to autism campaigner Temple Grandin and some very, very clever lines on the Heaven’s Gate cult on Do, Re and Me. “The older I get, the more articulate I am at whining,” Bonnette concludes on I Wanna Rock Out In My Dreams. Been there, right?
With the band now expanded to a five piece, Bonnette’s songs are also given added depth, and ‘Christmas Island’ is a frequently beautiful album. Best Friend skews Ben Folds Five, violins strike up as the superb Linda Ronstadt concludes and mournful cello underpins Coffin Dance, offering a neat contrast to the acoustic Getting Naked, Playing With Guns, which finds Bonnette inserting something of himself into a character sketch.
If ‘Christmas Island’ represents a new step up - it’s Andrew Jackson Jihad’s first release after swapping Asian Man for Side One Dummy - then it’s not one accompanied by a cowardly step away from what made them so interesting in the first place. This is another great record from a band that’s content to do whatever they feel is right.
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