Jackson is a loyal reader and thereby a wonderful human. So consider us biased.
reviewed by Laura Stanley
Jackson Reed takes you back in time on his debut The November Gales EP. Your mode of transportation: a technicoloured air-stream.
Reed’s EP, by his own description, is nostalgic. Throughout his four songs, you will never catch him looking forward, always back. He is seemingly uncomfortable with his own era (and with good reason) and is constantly concerned with finding ways to go back to a time, or a moment, that is not clouded with contemporary anxieties.
The lethargy of both “Goodbye Endless Summer” and closer “Dearest Surrender” comes from the being reluctant to let things go (move on) while on the sunny “Generation Vietnam,” Reed wants to be in the U.S. in the 60s and become -despite the perils of war -a recklessly hopeful baby boomer, singing, “Time machines will take me back/Back to when we were the peace/Sun the earth the evergreens.” EP highlight “Welcome Home” captures the feelings of moving back to your childhood home after university – a complex mix of feeling great now that you’re back in a safe space and feeling damn depressed about your stage in life.
Now about that air-stream: The Novemember Gales EP is shrouded by reverb and has a psych-pop feel as a result. The delicious haziness covers everything: the quick little riff in “Generation Vietnam,” the walking bass line of “Goodbye Endless Summer,” and Reed’s soporific vocals throughout.
The Novemember Gales are blowing in; step outside and hop aboard.
Top Track: “Welcome Home”
Rating: Strong Hoot (Good)
