Published August 4, 2011
What is evident about Mr Jónsson is that he has absolutely impeccable taste. The title track’s acoustic spins on The Beatles’ ‘Blackbird,’ ‘Ocean Girl’ kicks off with the descending riff from the verses of ‘Dear Prudence,’ also by The Beatles of course and there’s a heart-sinking moment at the outset of ‘To Her’ where for a split second it seems like JJ’s going to launch into ‘You’ve Gotta Hide Your Love Away.’ By The Beatles.
But let’s get one thing clear: this boy can sing and his vocals are of that lovely come-hither richness that slides this debut album into the middle of the pop arena, on a wave of gushing oestrogen from his audience. There’s no reason with his nicey-wicey acoustically Maroon-y 5-ey melodies and good looks he can’t have a chance in the mainstream. He knows how to (re)write a song, and when the emotions are real it’s really emotional. ‘Ocean Girl’ turns out to be an excellent thick-textured piece with a crescendo building up to a very satisfying coda, and final track ‘Miss You So’ is genuinely moving. Although to be fair, it sounds suspiciously like ‘Easy Like Sunday Morning.’ By The Commodores.
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