
THE JONNY POSSUM BAND: Short Summer
By Casper Jensen
Their fifth CD in only about as many years, The Jonny Possum band have created a convincing album of Americana-styled folk-pop tunes, based on traditional arrangements and harmonised vocals. The band essentially writes traditional folk-influenced lyrics arranged with mandolins, banjos, strings, double bass and acoustic guitar. ‘Short Summer’’s production (care of Rob Mayes) creates a warm, live feel which gives the album a sense of real acoustic space and authenticity. Provincial folk ballad Wreck of the Old 97 features a nicely conceived cello and strings arrangement. Face of a Stranger has the right mixture of road weary, rugged pop balladeering and acoustic accompaniment, while Going Out has retro keyboard tones and a bit of rock swagger. With eight originals and three covers the album suffers from being overly mid-tempo save for the uptempo country blues of the second-to-last track, but is likely a good barometer of the group as a live act.
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