HOW ARE WE DOING AND WHO WILL TELL US?

JACK O' THE CLOCK are an enigma in my world. On the one hand you have that Folk "sound" that comes across as being quite simple with the usual instruments in play like hammered dulcimer, banjo etc. plus a singer who has that country-hick voice. On the other hand we get these incredibly well thought-out lyrics and some complex arrangements, but trumping them both are the ideas in play. I am so torn with this band at times. And yet I am strangely drawn to their unique sound to the point where I've picked up every studio album they have released except for the debut.

It's that fourth album "Night Loops" and beyond where they really captured my imagination. In fact "Night Loops", "The Warm Dark Circus" and "Repetitions Of An Old City II" would be my top three from this band, and man that is a strong trio of albums right there. So this is album number two from 2011 and we get twelve songs and almost 66 minutes of music. A bit of hit ad miss here for me but I do lean to the back to back "Search" and "Novaya Zemlya" as far as songs go. Both have a dark vibe to them and seem like the ideas for maybe what they created later on "Night Loops". "Looking In" also is quite dark.

Some old school photos are used for a lot of their album covers which is cool. Quite a bit of variety on this one plus they use samples and they have some interesting ideas. The instrumental "Deepwater Horizon Burning" is great for being spacey and uplifting but rather short. Then the two longer pieces "Blue Tail Fly" and "First Of The Year" at 9 and 10 minutes bring out some of their more adventerous stuff. "Shrinking" gets intense and I really like it, while a couple that I'm not big on would be "Back To The Swamp" and Manifesto".

In my opinion this one and the next one "All My Friends" are both keepers but the best was yet to come. Still, I recommend these two. Chamber Folk is mentioned a lot with this band and there's this avant element to their music, they really are a one of a kind. A low 4 stars for this one.