The thing I love about Left L.A, one of the things anyway, is the way that it begins in a jaunty, upbeat sort of rocky/country sort of place but, just when you think that you have its measure, throws you a curve-ball, heading into some more introspective and melancholic territory. And once it has set the scene, underlined the lyrical content, messed with the dynamic, and tugged a heartstring or two, it returns to the original groove as if nothing had ever happened.
And, as with a lot of Stephen Jacques music, it feels timeless, the product of an earlier, underground, rock and roll age that has easily passed the test of time and been ushered into some more genre swerving, classic status.
If you like the idea of The Dog’s D’Amour singing Bukowski in Laurel Canyon of the early 70’s, (the lyrics suggesting that this was also the point that all the cool kids packed up and left the scene) then this is about as close you get to it. And who doesn’t need a bit of that in their lives?
[…] Stephen Jacques has a great way of making his songs sound slightly ragged and raw around the edges. Some of that has to do with the production of the record, the fact that he avoids overproduction and doesn’t fill his songs with sonic clutter just to fill the gaps. But mainly it is that wonderful voice of his. […]