Gregory Robson
03/07/09, 09:44 AM
International Jetsetters- Heart is Black EP
Record Label: Planting Seed Records
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2008
Who?
Oxford-five piece International Jetsetters formed in March 2007 by Mark Crozer, known to most music fans for his role in the indie legends The Jesus and Mary Chain. After a few solo albums, Crozer recruited Ride drummer Loz Colbert and charismatic lead singer Fi McFall to form a band that would draw on influences like The Chameleons, The New York Dolls and Jacques Brel.
How is it?
Their debut EP Heart is Black, dropped in the fall of last year and is a startling collection of guitar-based nuggets that crackle and blister ("Inside Out"), thump along ("Inside Yourself") and drone and wheeze ("Redemption Song.") Regardless of tempo or mood, the songs are lifted skyward by vocalist McFall whose ethereal vocals certainly carry a heavy dose of British shoegazers The Wedding Present. This is full-throttle sonic buzz that never varies too much but certainly leaves no room for disappointment. The EP's high watermark though is "Never Slows Down," a song, which chugs along like a slow-moving freight train before giving way to a wall of whirring guitars and a dizzying outro that allows McFall to showcase her range. In just six songs the band manages to make a strong case for them being considered an under-the-radar gem, and that is due in no small part to McFall. Her voice is dynamic, compelling and definitely worth the investment. Backed by a haunting sonic landscape, this is music that is much needed and very necessary. If the pangs of our soul could sing, it would sound just like this.
Recommended If You Like: The Wigs, The Wedding Present, Slowdive, Nina Simone, Dusty Springfield, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Jesus and Mary Chain
myspace.com/internationaljetsetters
Record Label: Planting Seed Records
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2008
Who?
Oxford-five piece International Jetsetters formed in March 2007 by Mark Crozer, known to most music fans for his role in the indie legends The Jesus and Mary Chain. After a few solo albums, Crozer recruited Ride drummer Loz Colbert and charismatic lead singer Fi McFall to form a band that would draw on influences like The Chameleons, The New York Dolls and Jacques Brel.
How is it?
Their debut EP Heart is Black, dropped in the fall of last year and is a startling collection of guitar-based nuggets that crackle and blister ("Inside Out"), thump along ("Inside Yourself") and drone and wheeze ("Redemption Song.") Regardless of tempo or mood, the songs are lifted skyward by vocalist McFall whose ethereal vocals certainly carry a heavy dose of British shoegazers The Wedding Present. This is full-throttle sonic buzz that never varies too much but certainly leaves no room for disappointment. The EP's high watermark though is "Never Slows Down," a song, which chugs along like a slow-moving freight train before giving way to a wall of whirring guitars and a dizzying outro that allows McFall to showcase her range. In just six songs the band manages to make a strong case for them being considered an under-the-radar gem, and that is due in no small part to McFall. Her voice is dynamic, compelling and definitely worth the investment. Backed by a haunting sonic landscape, this is music that is much needed and very necessary. If the pangs of our soul could sing, it would sound just like this.
Recommended If You Like: The Wigs, The Wedding Present, Slowdive, Nina Simone, Dusty Springfield, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Jesus and Mary Chain
myspace.com/internationaljetsetters