Sunday 17 June 2012

Jesus H. Foxx - Endless Knocking

Album review by KevW


Not exactly the most inspiring of album covers, is it? It's pretty one dimensional, bland and grey, but it serves its purpose. You know the album title, who it's by and a few of its vital statistics. It's functional but little else. It almost seems unfair to use the artwork (or lack thereof) as a metaphor for the music this Edinburgh collective have used such imagery as a front for, but sadly it just about sums things up. Jesus H. Foxx haven't made an awful record, it does its job, it functions and you know where you are with it.

Of course most music fans will be looking for something extra, some more emotion, colour, passion, vibrancy: a touch of va-va-voom. The first draft of 'Endless Knocking' was finished in 2010, and in the band's own words, it didn't excite them. Reworking, remixing and rerecording took place and this is the result. Unfortunately, despite a few nice touches here and there, this is still a record that fails to excite. It meanders around with the best of intentions and with the right ideas, as if in search of greatness, but never quite finds it.

'Elegy For The Good' briefly takes off midway through, and changes in rhythm and style almost make tracks like 'Twins' or 'Half The Man You Were' hold your attention, but not for long. 'So The Wind Won't Blow It All Away', 'J + J' and more have the correct chamber pop game-plan in mind, yet ultimately both trickle just wide of the post. 'Endless Knocking' never achieves its potential and that's a shame as there are the makings of a decent album here. Hopefully Jesus H. Foxx can find the back of the net with their next shot, but this one is just, well, as grey and captivating as the accompanying 'artwork'.
 
Jesus H. Foxx's website

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