Rockus.com - Review of Pronto
April 2006
Man, this guy thinks way too much…
Anyway, current Baltimore resident Jason Dove has gone solo. Considering I haven’t heard of the fellow before – his previous bands includes Atlanta’s Plexorjet and Slot Racer - this doesn’t make much of a difference to me. That said, ‘Pronto’ does sound to be the sort of album someone going solo would make. Freed of all those pressing opinions of his other band members, letting the inner muse fly free, and creating songs that sound like everything he’s ever enjoyed hearing, all mashed up and strained down and re-tuned and sounding like pretty much like… anyone. But he does it with a certain confidence and without overreaching himself: no over philosophising, epic adventures. The result – thirteen tracks split between simple songs and instrumentals, occasionally enlightening, usually fuzzily familiar and more often than not instantly forgettable.
The instrumentals are the stronger end of the wedge. The title cut is built on a hazy, snakey guitar riding about military snares, then slowing suddenly to lazy bass and open skies. It’s start/stop and keeps you nicely guessing. ‘Crisis Mountain’ is moderately successful guitar fusion with funk bass and Door-ish organ – there’s that Morrison again (or rather Manzarek – why should Jim get all the plaudits) - but it’s not all good news. Dove has a habit of adding the occasional Black Sabbath flourish, such as on ‘Theme’, with all the snarling and riffing you’d expect. See what I mean about mashing up those influences…
The best moment on the album is ‘Jameson On The Rooks’. It builds up slow; a quiet bluesy lick and wood sticks clacking lazily in the heat, before it turns all exotica-lite. Over loping drums, comes deep, deep guitar soloing sexily, another guitar playing a theme, before the drums get centre stage, sending out tribal messages.
As for his songs, Dove keeps his lyrics and music simple. Take ‘Make It With You’ where he asks the pertinent question of “Where do all the college girls go? / Can me and my friends follow? / In the library / where you study.” And, of course, he dreams about dating the girls. What else has pop music been about since Buddy Holly peered through his glasses and strummed his guitars? Musically, ‘Girl, My Love Is Like Keno’ – and yes, that is the name of the track – is generic Indie Rock. Think of the less impressive moments of Ben Lee. Here though, the simplicity of his imagery linking luck and love is really effective. The music may be generic but it is all that is needed to get his lyrics across. Similarly, the pastoral strumming of ‘Oh My God’ suits this paean to summer of cutting loose all ties and wafting away with the season.
Other songs don’t work. ‘Hey’ is too reliant on the refrain ‘Hey motherfucker’ to actually be anything more than an annoying distraction, while ‘Mexico’ tries to be suggestive – of party and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll and where to find them, but doesn’t say anything in a new or revealing way. This is ultimately where the album lies, balancing on the line of decent music without actually tipping into the realms of surprise or empathy.
