RECORD REVIEWS
Jack Penate —Matinee
{XL}
On the flipside of the current British pop revival is Jack Peñate. Now, I don't know if I dislike Jack Peñate because he dates/dated Kate Nash, he seems irritating in his videos or because he, well, is pretty bad musically.
Jack Peñate longs to be an important voice in Brit-pop, something like an '00s Dexy's Midnight Runners or Madness, but instead he sort of comes across like a watered-down Anglicized John Mayer. Yes, it is that ugly. Now, why is it that I dislike Jack Peñate so much when, in many ways, he is similar to Kate Nash stylistically? Ah, well, this is where the dreaded intangibles kick in, like the fact that you can get bored with Jack Peñate after less than a single listen to his songs. Maybe it is his completely uninteresting vocals, maybe it is the fact that all his songs sound identical, or maybe it is just some deep-rooted hatred on my part for the male pop singer-songwriter (Jason Mraz, come on down!).
How XL Recordings let itself get within 20 miles of Matinee is beyond me.
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Erik Gonzalez said on March 26, 2008:
Thank for clarifying the Kate Nash-Penate gossip ...
Yet still, I just listen to Jack and hear nothing of interest. Sure, he might be a nice guy and all, but he just seems to be about as bland as any Top 40 American heart-throb. That is all we need now are the British wave of John Mayers.
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Reviews
JessicaSeattle said on March 26, 2008:
I think one insight here may be dead-on: the mistaken idea that Kate Nash is/was dating JP is likely coloring your impressions on Matinee ;-) ;-)
(Since arriving on the scene last summer at 19, she's been dating The Cribs' Ryan Jarman.)
JP has been collegial & supportive of other young artists -- yes, including Kate but more notably Adele, who appeared on nearly every UK & NY tastemaker list tipping artists to watch in 2008. She was also just added to the Coachella lineup. (www.myspace.com/adelelondon)
I totally get a performer's affect obscuring the music -- I picked up JaimeT's album at the Crocodile (r.i.p.) show last fall, liked the tracks I'd heard on radio, was impressed by his acoustic instudio at KEXP. But then was turned off by how wasted he was later at the show that evening & thus refused to listen to it until recently.
On the strength of the singles alone (Torn on the Platform; the heartfelt Have I Been A Fool?; Second, Minute or Hour; Spit at Stars), Matinee is a strong debut effort. The jangly-happy music may not be my fave genre, but Jack Penate is a crowdpleaser & is going to be around for awhile in UK pop.