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Soundblab
Aug 10 2012
Cosmo Jarvis
Think Bigger
25the Frame Productions
Released: Monday 23 July 2012
Cosmo Jarvis isn't someone necessarily familiar to the masses. His
music is pretty diverse and his songs range from acoustic melancholy
to angry folk to indie goodness. He's also a filmmaker who was born to
an Armenian-American mother and English father and 'Think Bigger' is
his third album in as many years, he's only 22. In the 11 tracks that
come with Jarvis's latest effort there's a real variety of styles and
it's actually quite a fascinating listen.
The album is brimming with catchy choruses, great acoustic melodies
and charming lyrics, and there doesn't seem to be the predictable
angry response from Jarvis of his rejection from the mainstream which
would be expected. There are no songs about being ostracised or being
apart from the norm, which is refreshing as the majority of the songs
on 'Think Bigger' are cheerful and captivating.
'Love This' and 'Train Downtown' are both catchy numbers with real
resonance which make the album seamlessly flow and both have great
lyrics to match. 'Love This' has Jarvis pronouncing: "Dying keeps me
conscious of the way I waste my breath" which, for a first track sets
the tone for the album, giving it a fun and invigorating pace but at
the same time providing serious undertones for the listener to deal
with.
'Sunshine' is an example of Jarvis delving into folk and this track
wouldn't be out of place on an album by The Decemberists. It's got a
bubbly and boisterous quality to it and as the song goes on Jarvis's
shows off the anger in his vocals which shows he has more to him than
your average frothy songwriter. 'Good Citizen' is a great old-school
sounding blues rock song which again shows how diverse Jarvis can be.
However there are some tracks which just don't cut it with the rest of
the material, 'Hopeless Bay' is one which has almost cringe worthy
lyrics and makes you wonder what possessed him to put it on the
record. The lyrics seem to deal with suicide but the song has an
alienating and perculiar guitar melody and score in the background
which just undermine any serious themes that might have been apparent.
It's frustrating because on the majority of the songs on the album,
Jarvis has shown how much of a good songwriter he is.
'Think Bigger' is an inventive and radiant record which restores a lot
of hope in terms of British songwriters because if Cosmo Jarvis
manages to break into the mainstream, there won't be any stopping him.
http://soundblab.com/content/content/view/id/4737
From: A. Papazian
Aug 10 2012
Cosmo Jarvis
Think Bigger
25the Frame Productions
Released: Monday 23 July 2012
Cosmo Jarvis isn't someone necessarily familiar to the masses. His
music is pretty diverse and his songs range from acoustic melancholy
to angry folk to indie goodness. He's also a filmmaker who was born to
an Armenian-American mother and English father and 'Think Bigger' is
his third album in as many years, he's only 22. In the 11 tracks that
come with Jarvis's latest effort there's a real variety of styles and
it's actually quite a fascinating listen.
The album is brimming with catchy choruses, great acoustic melodies
and charming lyrics, and there doesn't seem to be the predictable
angry response from Jarvis of his rejection from the mainstream which
would be expected. There are no songs about being ostracised or being
apart from the norm, which is refreshing as the majority of the songs
on 'Think Bigger' are cheerful and captivating.
'Love This' and 'Train Downtown' are both catchy numbers with real
resonance which make the album seamlessly flow and both have great
lyrics to match. 'Love This' has Jarvis pronouncing: "Dying keeps me
conscious of the way I waste my breath" which, for a first track sets
the tone for the album, giving it a fun and invigorating pace but at
the same time providing serious undertones for the listener to deal
with.
'Sunshine' is an example of Jarvis delving into folk and this track
wouldn't be out of place on an album by The Decemberists. It's got a
bubbly and boisterous quality to it and as the song goes on Jarvis's
shows off the anger in his vocals which shows he has more to him than
your average frothy songwriter. 'Good Citizen' is a great old-school
sounding blues rock song which again shows how diverse Jarvis can be.
However there are some tracks which just don't cut it with the rest of
the material, 'Hopeless Bay' is one which has almost cringe worthy
lyrics and makes you wonder what possessed him to put it on the
record. The lyrics seem to deal with suicide but the song has an
alienating and perculiar guitar melody and score in the background
which just undermine any serious themes that might have been apparent.
It's frustrating because on the majority of the songs on the album,
Jarvis has shown how much of a good songwriter he is.
'Think Bigger' is an inventive and radiant record which restores a lot
of hope in terms of British songwriters because if Cosmo Jarvis
manages to break into the mainstream, there won't be any stopping him.
http://soundblab.com/content/content/view/id/4737
From: A. Papazian