Hands of Time - The Janks Album Review

The Janks - Image: www.facebook.com/thejanksband
The Janks
Image: link

Album Review

Within a few seconds of acquainting myself with lead-singer Dylan Zmed's alt-falsetto vocal hybrid, I know I'm in for a flamboyant bike-ride through The Janks' lazy-eyed country-rock highways. But oddly, opening gambit and title-track, "Hands of Time", falls someway short of the following "Billy the Kid" and "Dead Man", both of which wouldn't sound amiss in The Jayhawks' live repertoire.

So, we've established that The Janks have two feet in Americana, plus one hand in theatre. But there's more to "Hands of Time" than yee-hahs and safety-curtains - there is also a decent amount of sturdy song-writing and not just on those three opening tracks. "Can't Give Up" is almost a knees-up, "Echo Whispers" is a reflective strumalong and "Rat Racers" is a rummage through the '70s - The Janks have all angles covered, it seems. And for a band that only formed in 2009. The brothers Zmed and chum Garth Herberg have shown considerable maturity and potential - much of "Hands of Time" has the confident glow of the High School swot with six straight A-grades.

Unfortunately, the second half of the album wanders off into territory that should have remained unchartered. "Adolescence" sounds like the sort of music you might hear when a magician walks on stage to an expectant audience, before dropping his cards on the floor and disappointing everyone. "Child Prodigy" continues the youthful theme with suitably stroppy results, but ends up like a cider-fuelled yob swinging unwieldy punches in thin air.

For all of its faults, the album ends on a high with the slow-building "Get Outta Town" which leaves me thinking that the whole set might benefit from actually being a few songs lighter than it is. Certainly worth seeking out though.

Paul Pledger

You may be interested in

© 2001 - 2012 AllGigs Limited, company number: 05113554. Registered office: 3 Silverdale Drive, London, SE9 4DH, England
All Rights Reserved. Use of this site is subject to our Terms and Conditions.

Site Meter