Four tracks on this CD are quiet, slighly morose, and fragile. Plenty of atmospheric reverbed keyboards and some delicate vocals. They are often nearly static in terms of movement like some of the Penguin Cafe Orchestras works. Peaceful but not soporific - but very much waiting for the right mood to strike you before you want to listen to them. The track listing has 6 tracks on but I can't seem to find one of them. Maybe Onion Jack are too chilled for me even though I appreciate the unsettling quality of their work - but there is something I've left out.
One track stands out as very different. Believe Don't Believe starts with samples of a sound like monks singing plainchant topped by Daniel Vincent's plaintive voice. Then an overdriven guitar starts playing swirling bass riffs followed a minute later by regular breaks of a fuzzed lead guitar. After 5 minutes there is a break as a clean guitar takes over. The electric monks begin to move a bit closer again over solo guitar before being bolstered by a low, gravelly electronic rhythm and everyone takes a minute to come to a halt and go home. My reaction to all that is to put the track on all over again - it's been a long time since a 10 minute track has held my attention like that and repeated listenings over weeks hasn't dulled it's atmospheric and melodic fascination.
Onion Jack is the brainchild of two brothers who set out to make music they'd 'actually want to listen to'. Quite a quest, you might think. Well, yes, it is.
Judging by this EP, Daniel and Pete Vincent probably thought along the lines of 'it's got to sound dreamy, we want only very few and very inoffensive guitars and the vigorous strumming of fast power chords is a no-no'.
The result is a beautiful indie soundscape, spheric and a little on the melancholic side, with faint vocals, very quiet guitars and a hint of synths. In fact, this could be the perfect soundtrack for a moving black and white short film about a little girl whose kindergarten boyfriend just moved to a distant country. Something like that.
Overall, 'Before The Flood' is a damn fine little EP if you're feeling all dreamy and philosophic.
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