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6 out of 10
What is this? Has someone unearthed some unpublished Pat Boone? Ah, no, wait - the man appears to be singing about Sunderland and Somerfield, so unless Q magazine has invented time travel. Welcome to the world of Jackie Leven, a musician for whom the word 'prolific' is an understatement along the lines of calling David Tennant 'a hit with the ladies'. Catching a ride from the Carpenters' Top of the World, Fareham Confidential paints a grimy scene of contemporary life yet still claims 'it was good to be alive'. Just. Things get gloriously surreal towards the end as Leven walks past a seagull dying on the ground and ends with the observation 'women talk together in the lunchtime pizza house / the shadow of their pain knocks out the sun'.
Excellent stuff, but I am afraid that Leven's Johnny Cash-from-Fife accent gets in the way a bit. Well, a lot, really. Leven has been in the business long enough to know his own voice but I am afraid that, to this newcomer at least, it just sounds odd and off-putting. It's bearable in .Confidential but totally overwhelms Lovers at the Gun Club to the extent that I wonder if he isn't making some ironic joke. If he is, I'm afraid it's lost on me. Thankfully, though, the music and lyrics make up for any ignorance on my part. Just.
Listen: www.myspace.com/thejackieleven
Tracklist:
1. Fareham Confidential
2. Lovers At The Gun Club (Radio Edit)
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