Adam Green - Jacket FullOf Danger

Tue 28th Nov, 2006 in Music Reviews

Adam Green’s latest offering Jacket Full Of Danger, is least to say, surprising. If you’ve never heard of Green before, having read the quirky press release and seen the cover art that comprises of a picture of Green, a smiling, young, somewhat trendy Julian Casablancas-type with cute, colourful Shins-esque animals sitting on his shoulder and at the foreground of the picture, you would expect a light, frivolous, ‘indie’ pop album. Indeed the album is rather light and frivolous, except he croons. He croons with all his might that I endured the first song then didn’t attempt to listen to the album until a week later when I had done some research and knew what I was getting myself into. Jacket Full Of Danger is exceedingly overwhelming when you’re unfamiliar with crooning. It’s like you’re listening to the Rat Pack, but no way near as suave and charming. Instead, in Green’s lyrics are tales of hairy women, drugs, hanging out at the Hollywood Bowl and many other nonsensical topics.

Admittedly, Jacket Full of Danger does grow on you. Showcasing Green’s deep voice the album starts strikingly and rather clichéd (the second song ‘Hollywood Bowl’ is a prime example) yet the album progresses so that there is more variety in the melodies and tempos, even to the point that some songs such as Party Line, Nat King Cole and Cast A Shadow are all potentially danceable.

Green’s approach to lyrics is rather uncommon; he is extremely straightforward and blunt, to the point that sometimes the lyrics are offensive, such as in track White Women (more on that later). The most vigorous track on the album, with a brilliant introduction akin to the rock of The Black Keys, he snarls “You know I wanna bone you… fuck fuck me baby… I’m a little bit older, I know what I want”. Additionally, he sings frankly about how he copes with break-ups in Pay The Toll: “How many drugs does it take to get you out of my mind?”.

Jacket Full Of Danger on the whole is upbeat and fun, even if it is in a rather sordid manner. ‘Vultures’ is a tamer, slow dance song that contains perplexing lyrics (of course) regarding Castro and the magazine Vanity Fair. Though ‘Cast A Shadow’ is a sunny, delightful Beat Happening cover. With the majority of the songs clocking in at one-minute thirty to two minutes and fifteen seconds, it feels like a bit of a cop out, particularly as each song seems to explore a markedly different genre of music. However the songs do not feel too short and I fear if they were longer they would not be as enjoyable. The standout track ‘Drugs’ combines Green’s wry sense of humour through his suffering: “I feel so lonely, I got cold last night on a boxcar floor”. His singing and articulation is in the exact same style as Frank Sinatra and the orchestration is relatively beautiful. To hear Green singing so captivatingly, yet singing the following lyrics: “I like to do drugs, I like to have drugs, I like to hold a cigarette full of grass in my hand” is peculiar but definitely enchanting.

Green’s vocals are most certainly distinctive and his production abundant. In a well-crafted manner Green has revealed his deviant tendencies by juxtaposing vulgar, crude lyrics to typically jazzy sounds. It is through this that his album Jacket Full Of Danger is simultaneously absurd and enjoyable.