Review Summary: “YE-EA-ea-EA-EAAAAAEA-eaa-UHHHHH YAH YEAH YEAH”
Perhaps there’s more to JMSN’s namesake than we take for granted. Jameson is a smooth and easily palatable Irish whisky made to please the masses, but on the other end of the spectrum, it lacks character and complexity for those with a more refined taste. More than its auditory equivalent, JMSN’s second full length, Blue Album, plays out fittingly to these descriptions.
Where JMSN, the artist, departs from the drink however is in popularity: he’s now two records and an EP in and yet the guy rarely rates a mention in discussions surrounding contemporary RnB and pop music. The general gist seems that JMSN, or rather, Christian Berishaj, seems content working away in the shadow of bigger pop artists and to continue pumping tunes out to a smaller fan-base.
Of the best tracks here, ‘Street Sweeper’ is an enjoyable narrative on Berishaj’s ’type of lady’, ‘Bout it’ is an breezy post-Saturday night jam, and ‘Delay’ brings back the horns that worked so wonderfully on ‘Love and Pain’. The lyrics are base desires and romances, usually a rung of apercus on romance and living life well. But then, pop music never really called for poetry, and any failure in lyricism in an album that excels in melody and production (Justin Timberlake seems to be the proxy here) is really more of a moot point.
There are also changes in JMSN’s sound, even if on the surface they aren’t overly obvious – something of a change in tone to something cheekier, relaxed, and a departure from the more serious, overly-sentient character of his earlier records. There is more of a jam-like vibe to be found here, and it’s never more obvious than the records opening guitar lick, with its barely there distorted grit and flamboyant, varying pace. There is also a lighter, humorous touch to the album, particularly in the way he’s chosen to market the album (check out his video for ‘My Way’, which seems to be a hilarious call-back parody to 90s Video Hits days).
Where
Blue Album disappoints is largely in Berishaj’s delivery. He seems content to cruise along the same melodies, particularly on the album’s eight and a half minute closer, ‘Foolin’. As with previous material, JMSN enjoys splicing in samples of French/Spanish accents and tapes of him talking with producers or friends. These seem to be hit or miss - on Priscilla it worked in a kind of ode-to-Lynchian-creepiness, and more so in the context and texture of that record; yet here it seems to be unnecessary and tacked on. Which is perhaps one of Blue Album’s biggest weaknesses - it’s bloatedness.
With the arrival of
Blue Album, JMSN has started to build a portfolio in which his own sound has matured past its glaring grafting off of other artists (whose influence is obvious), and his voice and production skills have become more refined and deliberate. The sassier vibes are interesting, but it still remains to be seen whether JMSN can craft something more comprehensive and engaging.
