This boy/man was recently described as ‘The Last Of The Great Romantic Poets’ – a grotesque idea, but we can let that lie for now. He sings within the New-Folk family of England, having supported Laura Marling on tour and most recently being produced by Charlie Fink of Noah and The Whale.
The man stands clad in white shirt and side-parting peering out to the crowd as if he’s been forced to entertain at his grans birthday with a rendition of an old war song, staring puppy-eyed as he begrudgingly tunes his guitar. The voice that did finally utter itself was that of an old gramophone at the back of his throat crackling in effortlessness as he ever so gently serenaded the simplest and sweetest of guitar plucked verses. He, somehow, tranquilizes any sense of bitterness and carts you to somewhere fantastic with less colour and time.
It is evident early on that it is this ‘sweetness’ and translation of ‘cute’ that he understands best, gazing out to us with songs like ’Happy Birthday You’ and ‘Hooked Up on Us’. But he is not a simpleton – the lyrics often ring sour and guises his love struck adolescent tracks with a hint of heartbreak in coarse yearning. Yet the song writing felt almost sleazy at times, like the whispers of future plans and new happiness on a one-night stand. True but tainted.
‘Will White’, a local singer-songwriter of similar age and estimation, playing just before the London romantic, left a mark in centre stage which JJ could only slip on. He simply had more strings to his bow. Hinting at innate maturity with tracks like ‘Sleeves’ and ‘You Said’ that curate both comedic and brooding distrust in his subjects. Brighton wins again.
Words by Tom Sargeant
