Jack Cheshire – Copenhagen

Pleasantly guiding the way to introversion

(listen here)

Recommended Tracks: ‘Copenhagan’, ‘Time Travel’

I am very glad to have discovered Jack Cheshire in the summer. He is very much an artist to listen to on hazy days of gentle breeze and warm glowing sun. He has an innate laziness and chilled outlook that feels very july centric. His gentle melodies and hushed voice feel very personal, and give him a singular combination of acoustic intimacy, and dreampoppy woozy atmosphere.

Along with the chilled vibe, there is also a definite eeriness that carries quite a lot of weight. Particularly from the light jangling guitar, which spends the majority of the album flirting with melodies to complement the vocal lines. Songs like ‘Paper House’ almost break down into introverted sections of layered instruments and repeating vocal refrains.

The songs that stand out the most, in fact, are the ones with long instrumental sections such as ‘Time Travel’, ‘We Are Electric’ and ‘Copenhagen’. He and his band mates manage to get very pretty and complex patterns that  counterpoint his vocals gracefully creating a relaxed groove. The vocals themselves are very characterful and the lyrics are interesting and conjure powerful imagery when the due attention is given.

Seeing him live is definitely a better experience than on album. Just him and a friend with an electric guitar, strangely, had more impact than the full band record. Songs like ‘We Are Electric’ climax fairly well, but ‘Paper House’ was a definite strong point live and it blends into the background of the album, which is definitely the strongest criticism of Copenhagen. Throughout, there are refrains and riffs that stick in the mind, but I would be hard pressed to tell you which song is which. To find a standout single in this track list is a challenge, but so is finding a weak one.

It is a good mood. From beginning to end Cheshire maintains an ambient, and intrinsically English vibe. Middle England washes over the listener in a wave of cool cider and green hills. Copenhagen is an interesting album. Reminiscent more of bands like Athlete than anything else. He manages the feat, mostly, of staying fairly grounded whilst maintaining a dreampop vibe. An excellent artist for listening to with a decent pair of headphones on a train or bus. You want to block out the world, but want to be aware enough to not miss your stop or give an old lady your chair.