New York - Jack + Eliza deliver a debut LP that is both refreshing in its acknowledgement of the growing pains of youth as well as conveying a soft-spoken maturity beyond their young years. Gentle Warnings, produced by Chris Zane, who has worked with an array of notable indie acts from Passion Pit to St. Lucia and Penguin Prison, favours a more stripped back approach on this record, out on indie outfit Yebo Recordings (home to fellow NYC surf-rock inspired The Pains of Being Pure at Heart).
Although interests on the band’s Facebook page allude to “jogging, knitting and kissing”, the melodies produced by Jack Staffen and Eliza Callahan are far from saccharinely sweet and demonstrate honest raw emotion as well as a proven technical management of their vocals. In the past the pair has stressed the importance of utilizing vocals as full instruments unto themselves, and their strong harmonies and sense of balance with one another make clear this emphasis has paid off.
Jack + Eliza also impress with their strong sense of lyricism, which should come as no surprise given Callahan’s background winning the prestigious John Lennon songwriting award. The pure simplicity striven to be achieved by the two hits its mark with insightful lines in tracks like “Diamonds”, where Callahan challenges her own development and asks “who’s to say I’m someone that I know”. On “Backwards Shirts”, the band leaves behind the sun-touched nostalgia with which they are often cast, and deliver astute and darkly relevant observations: “your shirt on backwards/as you leave the room/you’ll get higher by yourself”. In this stark relatability surmised by just a few words, the duo shines.
Highlights of “Gentle Warnings” do include a few past-released singles from their EP No Wonders, although it’s a frequent occurrence that by the time many albums are released half the songs they include have already been made public. “Secrets”, with its catchy and wistful refrain, is charming and polished and perfectly captures the 60s-inspired yet pervasively modern tendencies the duo has set out to achieve. “Hold the Line” succeeds similarly, and when the duo play up their contrasting vocals and clean melodies outside of the occasionally hazy and abstract guitar and vocal tuneage, there’s something quite special to be had.
You can’t escape the Beatles-inspired rhythmic comparisons — especially within songs like the ballad “Circle Meets the Line”- but it’s not necessarily a bad thing to be compared to such a group, and there’s a difference between influence and imitation. The melancholic air of “Circle Meets the Line” insists that attention be paid to the obvious emotional investment presented by Callahan and Steffan, and their authenticity comes across loud and clear.
In “White Santa”, the closing track on Gentle Warnings, Jack + Eliza muse “can I take you/again”, not so much a question but an offering on both a more personal note and to the listener at large. The place Gentle Warnings seems to take us to is a dreamy soundscape where if you let it, things will fall into place; but it also reveals the very real world where people disappoint you and you’re not quite sure who you are and where you belong. This question of belonging is well-answered in “On Again”, where the duo sings “why do you want to know/I’m original”. For anyone asking themselves why this band should stand out in a sometimes over-saturated scene, there’s this unique sensibility that set Jack + Eliza apart, illustrated throughout Gentle Warnings, of a degree of comfort in their own skin that remains both unsettling and compelling.
Gentle Warnings is out via Yebo Recordings on June 9th. You can catch Jack + Eliza, live on tour with Hamilton Leithauser across North America through the end of July.
Ruby Hoffman
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