Reviews
Artist:Jinski
Album:Hurry Home
Label:Lucky Smile
Tracks:11
Website:http://www.jinski.com
It's relatively easy to write about big things, the events that shape the news, famine and war are large targets to hit. It's more difficult to take the mundane and make it interesting. The bits of life that we don't pay attention to, but which affect most of our lives more than an illegal war fought overseas about oil.
A good example…How much time do you spend in your back yard/garden? Work, pleasure entertaining friends, shooing away the neighbour's cat before it murders another blackbird, cursing the grass for growing again. It's a part of your life that just passes you by.
Jinski has the knack of picking up on the laundry of life and turn it into an aural record. It's not all at the macro level, the trick of good writing is to build more in. What is your backyard, the bit associated with your house? Kennedy thought Cuba was in his backyard so why not pull in a simile or a euphemism or two.
"Hurry Home" layers those thoughts and feelings. It gives the songs an edge because with just a flick of your mind it moves the song into a different realm and it still works.
One of the reasons it works so well is because Jinksi has a voice that just flows. No need for vocal dynamics, a good narrative and the ability to hold a tune. Sometimes that's enough. When it's not enough, then add addition guitar piano and a bit of backing vocal.
You get the feeling that Jinski has explored the many depths of his song before deciding on the final arrangements. There's a lightness to some of the songs "Hand Of God" by way of example that is positively uplifting. Give it a good listen and suddenly you become aware of a reference to Waco, realm shifts again.
As well as writing and co-producing the album, Jinsk is part of a two prong guitar lead, Dave Kennedy being the other prong. Again it's not deep in dynamics, but it's definitely not short of technique and intricacy.
Jinski's been around longer than you think. I was inspired to check out his earlier cuts, he's been a good singer/songwriter for longer than I care to remember, maybe it's his time to reach a wider audience, he wouldn't let them down.
"Hurry Home" is an album that should have a lot of mileage. Whilst it's an instant album, as soon as you hear it you start working with it, it's also an album that you'll find yourself returning to. It'll stay fresh because in all honesty people don't change that much. You'll relate to this album five, ten, fifteen years down the line. Who knows it might still be available.
Neil King