Dan Griffin

REVIEW: Arkells – Jackson Square (2008)

Welcome to Arkells Week!  We will be completing the Arkells Album Review Series this week, and diving into one of their EPs!  Four days, four reviews, for you!  By all means, not a complete series yet – Arkells have expensive EPs I am still in need of and am hunting for.

ARKELLS – Jackson Square (2008 Dine Alone)

Confirmed:  The Arkells were already brilliant from starter’s gun.  Their remarkable debut album Jackson Square (they had an EP before this under the name Charlemagne, that has since been partly reissued as the Arkells Deadlines EP) displays a formidable band with a strong handle on writing great songs.

Jackson Square (the name of a neighbourhood they used to frequent in Hamilton) opens with the slamming “Deadlines”.  First it’s Nick Dika’s bass rumbling through, then Tim Oxford goes hard-hitting on a drum into.  Singer Max Kerman’s lyrics are his first in a career-long attack on the guys in the suits.  “They’re sitting up in the board room, and you sit like a fly on the wall.  You can hear the man in the suit say we don’t have time to stall.  We got deadlines to meet.”  Musically it’s one of the Arkells heaviest tracks and the bass is just omnipresent.

Immediately things lighten up with “Pullin’ Punches”.  A fast punky beat is crossed with a pleasant guitar melody.  There’s a reference to Kingston, Ontario, home of the Tragically Hip.  Again, drummer Tim Oxford gets singled out for his inventive beat.  Max Kerman even references Elton John’s “Your Song” in lyric and melody, in a clever way.  See if you catch it.

The big single was called “Oh, The Boss Is Coming!”  A heavy blues rocker about getting busy on the job, it was also the Arkells first of many comedic music videos.  For using the office safety video tape to record one of their jams, the band are called into the boss’ office!  They are tasked with creating a new safety in the workplace video by Monday morning!  Mostly, it’s fun to observe just how young they were!  Musically, this track recalls the Zeppelins of yore.  Nick’s bassline certainly recalls some of John Paul Jones’ of the past.

Arguably the Arkells’ best song in these early days was the Beatles-Meets-Arkells bop of “Ballad of Hugo Chavez”.  The piano line by Dan Griffin recalls some late era 60s hits, while the “hey hey hey” refrain is pure Arkells.  Though not mixed prominently enough in the song, there’s also the Arkells first horn section to enjoy.  This laid-back classic is a singalong favourite.

Things get fast again on “Tragic Flaw”, a punchy little number.  A melodic chorus keeps it in Arkells-land, but musically there’s a lot of cool stuff going on here with the bass, drums and keyboards.  Guitarist Mike DeAngelis always holds down the fort with catchy little guitar lines, which he does here on the outro.  “Tragic Flaw” flows straight into “No Champagne Socialist”, a harmonica-inflected slow burner.  Again the bass and drums really dominate the mix, but the harmonica work gives it a bit of a Black Crowes vibe.

A soft ballad called “Abigail” boasts a really strong chorus, while the verses simmer under the soothing throb of bass.  A stunner of a song from the early days that perhaps foreshadowed some of the powerful, dramatic songs the band would later write.   Then it’s time for an anthemic blast called “Heart of the City”.  A prototype for later Arkells powerhouses, the chorus is an absolute banger.  A great song for singing along to, pounding your fists, in the house or in the car.  (Especially the car.)

The ballad “I’m Not the Sun” has a lovely, but sad sound.  It has one of Mike DeAngelis’ biggest and best guitar solos, recalling the tone of Neil Young.  This powerful song is a slow burner, but burn it does.  This suddenly transitions into “The Choir”, which has a completely different feel.  It bubbles under, but has a heft to it.  These early songs all have a lot of weight, even the lighter “John Lennon”.  “I’m John Lennon in ’67,” goes the chorus, and you just can’t help but bop your head along.

A final song, “Blueprint”, turns up the tempo and brings back the horns.  This is a blast of a song, pedal to the floor and off to the races.  Those “hey hey hey” refrains firmly cement it as an Arkells song, but what a way to close an album!

Two observations about this album in general.  A couple songs aside such as “Oh, the Boss is Coming!”, Max doesn’t really belt it the way he later would.  As a singer he was still finding his voice and perhaps didn’t have the confidence he would later display.  Second, the production on this album is very powerful but basic.  Later Arkells albums would have many more layers of vocals, keyboards and effects.  That’s not a strike against Jackson Square; just an observation.  There’s a sonic power to this album that the others don’t have.

4/5 stars

There is a double vinyl reissue of this album with a live EP that is still on my wantlist. The Charlemagne EP is a holy grail item.

 

ARKELLS

  1. Jackson Square (2008)
  2. Michigan Left (2011)
  3. High Noon (2014)
  4. Morning Report (2017)
  5. Rally Cry (2018)
  6. Campfire Chords (2020)
  7. Blink Once (2021)
  8. Blink Twice (2022)
  9. Laundry Pile (2023)

…and more to come