Jack Phemister
Death of the Close Minded
When you are coming up as an artist, you inevitably get compared to somebody else. While it should be taken as a compliment, it’s important to know that to many musicians it can have quite the opposite effect. They spend years practicing their craft, writing, gigging for nobody, making zero dollars, only to be told - “hey, you’re so great, you sound just like X!” If I was Jack, I’d get sick and tired of people telling me I sounded like Jack Johnson. The reality is much more interesting. Sure, Johnson’s great, but he doesn’t get as complex and interesting as Phemister does. Phemister attacks the guitar with thought process of a jazz pianist. He goes after his lyrics and melody like a beat poet fluent in the Great American Songbook (look it up, junior.). He sings like a modern day crooner and arranges his compositions as if they are meant to be heard entirely acoustically, in a European café.
This is a stunning LP. There are no beats or synths or loops in this project - it’s all live and beautiful, thank god. He released an EP in 2020 and a few singles this year off this record, but to be at this level of craftsmanship in such an “early” stage of his career is breathtaking. Great writers and musicians know how to show excellence and restraint at the same time, and this entire project breathes that vibe. Every performance is crafted to keep the focus on the song - it’s structure, melody and story. It’s hard to pick one song off this record to review, so I’ll just go with the lead off track. Here’s my review of “Backwards Sideways.”
Track starts with just his acoustic and 1 measure of descending chords in a triplet feel. Key of F, about 66 BPM. Great way to catch your attention, and love the fact that it’s in F - an under utilized key that always sounds fresh to the ears. Vocals come in after that quick intro, along with a soft drum pattern and a gentle bass line. Absolutely love the melody - very Gershwin. First verse gets split in two by that descending intro before he takes us to the chorus with a great transition. Vocally, his phrasing reminds me of Chet Baker and Jeff Buckley, and his guitar playing is like if Jamie Cullum wrote the part for Dave Matthews. He uses the triplet intro again to break before the second verse, which is wonderfully complimented by a flute line favoring your right speaker. After the second chorus, we’re joined by a larger brass section for a bridge - with a simple arrangement, keeping the focus on the twisting melody and complex guitar line - where it should be. The final chorus has a nice extended tag to it, before he employs that triplet intro again with departing vocal line and pointed exit. The track runs 3:48 but I could have easily listened for another 5 minutes.
The album features the following musicians; Thomas Bell, Kieran Rule, Jack Smythe and Patrick Barton-Grace (keys). It was mixed by Jonathan Anderson. Great work, lads!
In an industry plagued by 3:00 pop songs, vocoded vocals, appropriate country (that steals R&B and Hip Hop beats), metal that sounds like it was generated by an appliance and guitarists who can’t go on stage without a capo, this is a welcome relief. It’s such a pleasure to come across artists like Jack Phemister, I know he’ll be a regular around my house for years to come - I hope you feel the same. Come to Nashville, Jack. Bring the band and tear down a few stages here. Drinks are on me.
Check it out now!