JPL - Higher & Higher

Hear The Track Here

Yet another brand new name to me (and Soundclick) JPL is not the rocket science establishment come to party but someone being Just Plain Lazy, which to be honest is much more my kind of rocket science. Why bother with space when you have a couch? As you can surmise, I am floundering in this verbal thicket because I can find nothing whatsoever about this artist other than being a UK resident and being on Soundclick about five minutes. Mind you, he did find his way to the forums - which is something people who have been on that site for years STILL don't know about - and that's a point in his favour.

There's only one track on the page right now, so even you will have no trouble seeing it ;)

Coming to this track is, as is often the case with assumptions, a bit of a surprise. It's a light, airy pop offering that JPL says 'needs a little work on the vocals on the chorus' and that's a fair comment. 'Put together one sunny afternoon' he goes on to say, and I have to admit it sounds like it, with that special instinctual song at the heart of it and yep it is pretty infectious. Musically, is a synth driven track that gambols along nicely, although there are a couple of weirdnesses happening (the sweeps happening on the bottom end) but all told, it's a good groove.
Structurally and vocally Higher & Higher enters Simply Red territory and the vocalist even sounds like whatsisname, and to a philistine like me, that is not always a good thing. In this case though, it does pass muster because - thank God - it isn't Simply Red, just plain lazy. As such, it's a very nice introduction to a musician and songwriter who will bear some watching. Higher & Higher is a cracking song, sung with considerable style and paced well. Took me a couple of plays to appreciate it though, so I'd advise at least a listen or two for it to hook you.

Excellent electro-pop. Highly Recommended.