Crosstown Rebels: Cat. # CRMCD009
Released September 2009

Track List:
1. Don’t You Remember The Future (1:09)
2. Mars (4:24)
3. Summertime featuring Ost & Kjex (5:00)
4. Deep In The Ghetto (5:57)
5. Half Human (4:20)
6. This Is How (5:53)
7. Sand Dunes (5:15)
8. Absolute Zero featuring Alison Mars (5:07)
9. Galactic Space Bar featuring The Egyptian Lover (4:35)
10. Tuning Tables (3:42)
11. Belter (6:05)
12. Mexico (5:56)


IN BRIEF: Minimal-deep-tech’s latest hero. With luck, he’ll last longer than the last one.

What’s this? A concept house album? Oh my, whoever does that? Okay, so Kerri Chandler has (Computer Games being the most recent example). And Mark Farina (Air Farina). Also-

Alright, so there are a lot of house producers who do concept albums. It’s just not the expected thing to do, is all. That said, despite the spotty track record such endeavors hold, folks often look forward to seeing their favorite producers show a little musical ambition when it comes to the LP format. Simply hearing a clutch of old and new singles can be rather uninspiring when you’ve got a CD playing for an hour-plus-ten.

So, good on Jamie Jones, giving us something a little challenging with his debut artist album. After the near-ridiculous praise his hit single Summertime earned this past spring, it could have been an easy affair to simply ride that song’s coattails into an album format. Instead, it’s smartly placed into the k-hole trudge of Jones’ deep-tech offerings, turning a rather simple tune into an epic anthem. I mean, my God! Melody! Real melody!

I think I should make it clear right now that, contrary to what the PR blurbs have purported, there isn’t much concept going on with Don’t You Remember The Future. This is supposed to be a futuristic-sounding album, but aside from a few electro zaps, sci-fi samples, and bloopy bits, it’s about as contemporary as deep-tech gets. Frankly, there’s examples of tech-house from the 90s that’s more forward-thinking than what Jones offers here. What I can buy into, is the idea that an injection of retro-funk and soul is required to rescue the future from soulless music. Quite obviously, the Egyptian Lover featuring Galactic Space Bar works wonders in selling this notion, but again, it’s nothing we haven’t heard before from retro-futurism seekers. If you’re going to go on about how this is a concept album, actually go full-out with it -simply making use of synthy sounds that have been used in house music for years and calling it a future-concept album isn’t enough.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the biggest handicap on this album; rather, it’s the very nature of Jones’ music. Much of it is loopy, aims to be deep, but is executed as serviceably as deep-tech typically gets. Summertime aside, the opening half of Remember The Future amounts to little of consequence. Oh, I’m sure there will be plenty of excuses from the ketamine-crowds to proclaim its brilliance: “it works better on the dancefloor”; “you just have to really pay attention to get it”; “it rewards repeated listens”; etc. Fine and all, but the main complaint remains: it’s all just functional music, the kind of stuff that easily fades from your memory once the next track takes off, and easily overshadowed by tunes that have more funk, melody, or soul in them. Arranged so the vibe is continuously inclined, cuts Deep In The Ghetto through Sand Dunes have little quirks and shifting elements to keep them from being total write-offs, but it’s merely a simmer compared to where house music’s been and can go. That’s minimal-deep-tech for you though: never awful, but seldom riveting.

Once we leave that segment, however, and Jones branches out a little, we finally see things pick up for the better. Absolute Zero is more of an icy-cool jazz outing, and I’ve already touched upon Galactic Space Bar; both serve as a welcome detour before we get back into the deep-tech again. Once in, Jones brings more funk to the proceedings with Tuning Tables, does the k-hole plod-step ‘menace’ thing with Belter, and brings the two together in Mexico, a track that suggests the album is about to take off for a strong climax. Alas, Mexico is the climax, a decent one considering where Remember The Future’s been (oh my God, it’s melody again!), but coming off more like a coda with its mournful tones. Still, it’s an effective way to wrap the album up.

Given Jones’ huge rise to stardom this year, there was a large amount of expectation going into Remember The Future, and some seemed eager to force themselves into finding the ‘classic’ they wanted to hear. It isn’t, though. Jones has crafted a deep-tech house album that basically keeps things at a competent level, and very easily becomes lost in the sea of competent deep-tech house releases that have come out over the years. His idea of doing a concept album is partly to blame for this, as he simply doesn’t shoot far enough with the theme; we’re offered little more than a cursory peek into this future of his, one that fails to offer anything unique in the process. You can still reasonably enjoy this on those chill days when you don’t want anything to assault your ears, but with hundreds of releases catering to that sort of thing, it places Jones’ offering squarely in the glut.

ACE TRACKS:
Summertime
Mexico


Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com. May not be reproduced or republished without the consent of TranceCritic.com. © All rights reserved

Title: Jones, Jamie - Don't You Remember The Future
Category: Album
Sub Category: House
Reviewer: Sykonee
Related Link: Jamie Jones MySpace
Added: October 28th 2009
Viewed: 1596 Times
Score:
Options:  
  

[ Back to Reviews Index | Back to Album Index | Post Comment ]