One of the great casualties of the digital distribution boom is the weakening of the once revered album cover to the point of near redundancy. It’s a massive loss. Especially when you come across such a striking, memorable image as the cover for Jack On Fire’s latest record I Am Animal – the follow-up to the local quintet’s debut LP Stranger Cain. The miniature bush landscape, created by artist Alyce Brandner, is an excellent evocation of the Australian Gothic, oozing mystery and menace.
Thankfully, it’s a premise that’s confirmed in the sprawling desert psych of album opener and title track I Am Animal. Amidst swirling tambourines and pounding drums, Jack On Fire build steadily on a droning, hypnotic riff. Ben Blakeney’s vocals swim in a tidal wash of reverb. It’s loose, unhinged, spooky, and resoundingly stoned.
Unfortunately, though, the quality isn’t quite sustained throughout what is relatively a short album. Blood on the Mountain seems to simply run out of ideas around the two-minute mark and stumbles to an abrupt, unsatisfying finish. The jangly indie rock of Take Me Home also feels underdone. Perhaps it’s a matter of the songs feeling constricted, lacking in depth, when measured against the spaciousness of the opener.
That said, I Am Animal still offers a number of genuinely disquieting moments. Suzanne is a creepy murder ballad in the vein of Nick Cave, underpinned by Blakeney’s ghostly vocal delivery and a closing rock-out that throws the song into the chaos of its subject matter. Old Love is another highlight, marrying hushed vocal harmonies with an eerie guitar line. And closer See Through the Rain provides a welcome dose of spirited, swampy rock‘n’roll.
Still, it’s not quite enough to elevate I Am Animal beyond the potential the band clearly possess.
BY WAYNE MARSHALL
Best Track: I Am Animal
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: THE TRIFFIDS, THE GO-BETWEENS, THE DRONES
In A Word: Promising
