Although their names are hardly household words as of yet, the members of The Josh Jackson Band would have to admit that their proverbial star has risen considerably over the past six months. After pulling down honors for Pick Artist in the Nashville Music Guide's October 2002 issue and Best Rock Band in the Nashville Scene's 2002 readers' poll, the foursome went on to garner accolades from Rolling Stone contributing editor David Wild and an in-studio slot on Nashville's Buzz 102.9, the local alternative rock station. By January of 2003, the group's cover of Chagall Guevara's "If It All Comes True" had made its way into the Top 40 on the Jamsline.com indie artists chart.
Chronologically speaking, much of the self-titled sophomore album is rooted in the MTV-ready pop/rock of the middle and late eighties. "So Do I" and "Next Best Thing" wed the bar-ready rock & roll of, say, Huey Lewis or Eddie Money to the matter-of-fact lyrical sensibilities of artists like Bob Seger and John Mellencamp. "Rosa" (Rosa lives off of Hollywood Boulevard/ Two hundred and thirty-three lamp posts down/ She found the way out of this town) is a likewise prototypically '80s power ballad harking back to Bon Jovi's tale of life beyond the minimum wage in "Livin' on a Prayer." And the sweet, hook-filled pop of "Out of Reach" seems destined to evoke knowing nods from listeners weaned on Richard Marx's wistful odes to love, loss and heartache.
In fairness, a few of the album's melodies tend towards the generic. And numbers like "In Pieces" (I stole your dreams/ Clipped your wings/ Watched the fire die in your eyes) highlight the band's weakness for lyrical cliché. That said, the new record still boasts any number of worthy candidates for Top 40 pop radio airplay. And, given the group's undeniable instrumental chops, one has little trouble picturing the live shows as thoroughly rousing affairs, indeed. If the quartet sometimes quotes its musical influences a bit too literally, it compensates with an infectious appreciation for the pop/rock medium that's hard not to get swept up into. To be sure, with a little spit and polish on the production end, Jackson and his Music City cohorts might very well find themselves giving the Matchbox Twenty's and Train's of the world a run for their collective money.
3 tocks
