Just Jack deserves better than to be dismissed as a one-hit wonder. Given the fickle nature of the pop charts these days, however, there’s a serious risk he might be remembered only for the novelty hit ‘Starz In Their Eyes’.
And although Tripod is far from packed when Jack Alsopp and his band take the stage, those that are here seem to realise there’s more to this man than an overplayed (if perfectly poptastic) slice of UK hip-pop.
Just Jack’s first album, The Outer Marker, slipped under the mainstream radar when it came out five years ago, and the tracks played from it tonight suggest why. He jokes that about 500 people in the world probably own a copy of The Outer Marker, but with sub-Massive Attack fare like ‘Snowflakes’, you can’t really blame the other six billion of us.
But when he stops gazing at his navel and goes for the dancefloor instead, Jack’s pretty unstoppable. Moreover, his band is fantastic – they might look like contestants from University Challenge, but they play with real soul. It seems like Jack can’t believe how good they are himself, nodding approvingly by the speakers as they jam during ‘No Time’. And the unreleased slice of electro silliness that is ‘Goth In The Disco’ is screaming out for radio play.
Up close, Alsopp’s voice has plenty of punch. His lyrics sometimes seem to come from the Noel Gallagher school of nonsensical rhyming, but like lots of the new wave of UK rappers, he’s got a natural flow that never feels forced. Jack also charms the pants off the audience between songs, the opposite of the ungrateful overnight celebrities he lays into on ‘Starz.’
Next single ‘Glory Days’ gets played early in the set, and is a well-honed and inventive track that should win over at least some doubters. But whether it’s enough to kill off the gargantuan ‘Starz’, which goes down a treat and is as well-performed as the rest of the set, is another thing altogether.