THE SAMUEL JACKSON FIVE

It gets off on the wrong foot with "Face The Fax" which is okay but not for an opener. The closing part section of "Hey Now, Who Really Cares" stands out for me but it's hit and miss throughout. I like the horns starting before 4 minutes on "Eye Eat Lotus" and the title track is really good but short at 2 1/2 minutes.

"So Many Cowboys, So Few Indians" is a catchy little number with dual guitars intertwining before a beat and horns join in. Cello before 3 1/2 minutes and it turns heavier late. Nice. "Slow Motion Simulator" contrasts the piano led sections with the mellotron-like sounds that lead the other section. I like it. The closer is the longest, approaching 9 minutes. Not into the violin sounds late but the dual guitars early are cool.

I gave this one a second chance just because I really like this band but this one just doesn't do it for me. 3 stars.

"Skinflick Dress Rehearsal" turns quite powerful before 1 1/2 minutes but it does settle back quickly as picked guitar, synths and a light beat return. Those contrasts continue. Such a refreshing sound to this one. "If You Show Off The Milk, Who's Gonna Buy The Cow" kicks some ass after the mellow intro. Again they contrast the laid back passages and more aggressive ones well. Great tune! "Easily Misunderstood" features piano and strings. I like it. "Charlie Foxtrot Queen" is cool with the nimble bass lines and picked guitar as what sounds like vibes joins in. It kicks in with some power around a minute. "Person Most Likely To Enjoy The Taste Of Human Flesh" is next and where do they get these titles from? Hilarious. This is a top three track for me. Just a beautiful soundscape that builds before settling back again. Some crazy dissonant horns come in around 3 minutes as the drums pound. Such an adventerous section. It returns back to that earlier sound after 5 minutes.

"Unimog" has a gorgeous intro then strings before a minute add to that, they will come and go. The tempo picks up before 4 minutes with guitar and drums leading the way. Themes are repeated. "No Name" is another example of beautiful and intricate melodies. Very tasteful and reserved as keys and bass especially impress, although both are subtle. Not a big fan of the heaviness that sort of pulsates 2 1/2 minutes in though. "Song For Sarah" is too gorgeous for words. Some power before 2 minutes then it settles back. Nice. Deep bass lines 3 minutes in then that beautiful sound returns(gulp). A top three and a song befitting of my own Sarah. "Psycho Derelict" is a short piece with some fuzzed out growly sounds. "Michael Collins Autograph" is my other top three. Piano and strings to start then the picked guitar and prominant bass take over. The tempo picks up after 3 minutes. Man this sounds so good with the atmosphere in the background adding depth. Two guitars weave in and around each other then we get some aggression 5 1/2 minutes in before it settles back late. It ends with "Switch Ambulance Trip" with the mournful strings as the keys join in. So beautiful and it reminds me of SIGUR ROS.

A solid 4 stars but not as good as their self titled release although i'm in the minority with those feelings.

Favorite songs: "Radio Gagarin" (4:33) (8/10); "Race to the Self-Destruct Button" (2:44) (8/10), and; "A Perennial Candidate" (4:39) (7/10).

"Never-Ending Now" starts off in an experimental manner before settling into a groove. Guitar before 2 minutes. Great sound here. "Mockba" has a solid sound with vocal melodies. Mandolin comes in and then it all kicks in after 3 1/2 minutes with nice chunky bass lines and vocal melodies. The mandolin also returns. "Electric Crayons" has a good heavy intro but it settles quickly with vocals. Deep bass lines here too. It's so uplifting when he sings with more passion. Contrasts continue. "Radio Gagarin" opens with piano and it starts to build. It settles back again with piano after 1 1/2 minutes. High pitched vocals before 3 minutes with atmosphere. Intricate guitar ends it. "Race To The Self-Destruct Button" reminds me of "Discipline" era KING CRIMSON but that changes when it turns heavy. Vocal melodies join in. They are ripping it up late.

"What Floats Her Boat" or grills her cheese has these sounds that echo as bass and guitar play over top. "Ten Crept In" opens with vocals and i'm not sure why this is moving. It kicks in as vocals continue. There's guest violin in this one and the next one. Great track. "A Perennial Candidate" has some laid back guitar as the drums join in. It continues to slowly build then kicks in before 2 1/2 minutes. Clarinet too. "Tremulous Silence" opens with strummed guitar, horns and vocals standing out. The guitar is then picked. It keeps changing back and forth then it all kicks in before 3 1/2 minutes to end it. "And Then We Met The Locals" is a great title. This is uptempo and intricate then it turns fuller but it continues to shift. Horns are screaming 4 minutes in. "Low Entropy" is the short final track with acoustic guitar leading the way as keyboards and bass join in.

Well this has exceeded my expectations. It's entertaining yet challenging enough to keep even the most seasoned progger happy.

First off, it's difficult to fault a band with as awesome a name as The Samuel Jackson Five. I imagine that, like me, many people are first drawn to these Norwegian post-rockers after a quick chuckle at their name, becoming genuinely intrigued in what they might sound like. Contrary to assumption, it's not a singing family of children yelling expletives and threatening to unleash their hell and badassery upon unsuspecting snakes and filmgoers alike. Instead, The Samuel Jackson Five follows a sound similar to that of my favourite post- rock act, the vibrant God Is An Astronaut. Though the band name first had me approaching these guys with an air of scepticism, I have little reservation in calling "The Samuel Jackson Five" the best post-rock album I have yet heard this year. If only they had kept things purely instrumental, the album may very well be perfect.

I had a phase with post-rock where I found myself infatuated with many bands of the style, crying 'love' for the style's tendency to create vast atmospheres. Perhaps it's part of the post- Godspeed 'we can't make things any more expansive' mindset, but in recent years, I have heard the drawn-out post-rock sound becoming more concise, in general. While I may have had my apprehensions about this, when done right, the more song-based, straightforward structure to post-rock remedies many issues suffered by the genre's heroes, namely Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sigur Ros. Although the same hypnotic atmosphere may not be given time to brew and ferment, the music- once again, when done right - is consistently engaging. "The Samuel Jackson Five" is an album with not a minute to doze away or lose track. It never grinds on the ears, but the music is complex, and even diverse. Diversity and surprise is one of TSJF's greatest strengths here; every song brings something new to the album. Even if some of the experiments don't float as well, it's rare that I find myself so consistently engaged to an album, particularly with a band I've had no prior investment with.

Barring a wide variety of guitar tones, TSJF bring many instruments to the table, and though they're willing to experiment, the music is bright and accessible. A theremin and lapsteel are both used, and they certainly compliment the futuristic vibe. Though most of these songs rest around the four minute mark, I'm amazed by this band's ability to craft atmosphere. The fourth track "Radio Gagarin" is a wonderful example of this, diving between a central hook and spacey ambiance effortlessly. Helped greatly by an ethereal sense of production, "Radio Gagarin" is among the greatest songs 2012 is likely to produce.

Although I suppose I can't fault them for trying something out, the vocals don't work as well as they may have been intended to. Post-rock is known for its generally instrumental approach to things, and though I think there is room for vocals to work in a style like this (Sigur Ros are here to back me up) the three songs featuring vocals have me thinking that The Samuel Jackson Five may have been better off leaving the album entirely instrumental. This is not because the songwriting of these tracks is lesser than the others, or even that vocalists Meidel and Knutsen are poor singers. In fact, the vocals are executed nicely. I could see the Mew-like vocal work in "Ten Crept In" being echoed in future works to a greater success, but it's really the structure of the album that has the issue with it. The problem lies in the feeling that the sudden, unannounced appearance of vocals tends to break the momentum while listening. Of course, The Samuel Jackson Five are never ones to back down from surprising their listener, for better and worse. Fortunately, the vast majority of risks they have taken on this self-titled record pay off very well. Make no mistake about it, and don't let their silly name fool you; this album rules.

"Mockba" has a great melody on fuzz-toned guitar along with wordless harmony vocals and mandolin. Goes into a stereotypical post-rock vibe for awhile. Some nice synth gets added eventually. The beginning section gets reprised and then it ends in a cacophony as the sound is slowed down. "Electric Crayons" is the first of the vocal songs. Almost sounds like a decaffeinated Mars Volta mixed with some 1980s New Wave band. Decent song but nothing special. I don't know if the title of "Radio Gagarin" has anything to do with the first man in space (as far as we know) but going by the album cover you would almost think so. Dark piano chords introduces this track which features some great memorable mandolin playing. Everything gets a little looser and improv sounding in the middle with the piano doing some almost classical sounding quasi-soloing. Some heavenly female vocals show up and the song returns to it's original path.

"Race To The Self-Destruct Button" has some metal style riffing on guitars while the rhythm section is more math-rock oriented. Some lovely wordless harmony vocals float over top. Some picking on clean guitar later as those vocals become a little different. Great song but too short. "Ten Crept In" is another vocal song. This sounds very indie rock. It's a good well- written song but it's hardly anything you could call 'prog' or 'post-rock' or anything like that. "A Perennial Candidate" opens with great sounding electric piano before tom-tom centred drumming and 'real' piano join it. Love the chord changes here. Later some sax changes the song into an odd-metered rhythm. The music returns to the opening part with some nice sax soloing. "Tremulous Silence" is the last vocal song. Sounds like some kind of alternative rock from the 1990s featuring organ and sax.

"And Then We Met The Locals" has dated sounding sequencer patterns and guitar picking getting joined by some tremoloed guitar. The bass and cymbals come in and everything gets brighter and more melodic. The guitar playing reminds me of some 1980s rock in places. Nice sax in this track. Goes into a more typical post-rock vibe with a synth soloing over top. This song changes back and forth quite a bit, the most interesting song compositionally. Some skronky sax playing turns the band ugly while beautiful singing pushes the clouds away and lets the sunshine in. This self-titled album is a good, consistent release from 2012. This has great sound and production values and a good front cover to boot. I should investigate their earlier albums in full, not just a few songs here and there. Anyway, this gets a 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.