I was a bit of a fan of My Life Story the band fronted by Jake and was even lucky enough to meet him at a little gig in Hull many years ago but I don’t think any prior knowledge could have prepared me for how much I fell in love this record. The first time I played it I thought it was ok but by the third or fourth time I simply couldn’t turn it off and has to force myself to listen to something else for fear of overplaying it. Each composition, some old some new, is beautifully crafted using piano as a base but later on adding cello and female vocals. The lyrics from opener ‘Butterfly Wings’ sets the tone ‘late at night she’s dancing through my soul again, who’d have thought a butterfly could start a hurricane’ and continues through the twelve tracks here. Repeated listens also reveal Jake’s voice to be far more textured than I at first thought adding extra gravitas to each song. Heartbreaking, warm, sad and stunning, this record is as good if not better than anything by Damien Rice, Tom Mcrae or Bon Iver and I’m not sure why it isn’t bigger than it is. If you like any of the above, Glen Hansard (from ‘Once’), Hobotalk, Jacob Golden, Damien Jurado or anyone who is making emotional solo music then you can’t fail to love this record. For me it has instantly become one of my favourites and a record I will always treasure.
Im a massive fan. U into My Life Story/Exile Inside too? Iv seen them thousands of times (nearly)… a spring 2011 show is rumoured and he’s currently doing a dance thing called Choppersaurus !