Jack Of All Trades - Just Jack

Touted as the next Mike Skinner but with more intelligence and less ego, loved by the industry and he hasn’t released an album for over three years - 28 year old Camden born wordsmith Jack Allsop, or as most people know him, Just Jack, is doing okay for himself. Gigwise took the opportunity to catch up with him during his recent mini tour around the UK.

Just Jack’s debut album ‘The Outermarker’, was released in 2003 and identified him as a stylised and poetic people watcher. A small cult following emerged and there were some rumblings of critical acclaim from those in the know. But unfortunately, things didn’t go quite to plan and it would be a further three years before he would resurface. “My record label actually went bust and my manager had to stop managing me, so I had two years pretty much off of not doing anything. If that hadn’t happened I probably would have had a second album out quite a long time ago,” explains Jack. “It was frustrating at first but you’ve got to be philosophical about these things. Nothing ever really runs that smoothly in this business so you’ve just got to get on with it. As it is, I’ve actually learnt quite a lot in the last two years and I think my music’s got better because of that.”

And at last things are on the up again for Jack. Having recently signed to Mercury, his second album ‘Overtones’ finally hits the selves in late January. The first single, ‘Writers Block’, is out now and he’s currently doing the rounds showing off his skills and giving his fans a taste of what to expect from the eagerly anticipated follow up album.

So what is the funk fuelled ‘Overtones’ all about and how has three years off made it different to his debut? “If anyone knows ‘The Outermarker’, it’s as varied as that, there’s just so much different stuff on there. I think ‘Writers Block’ probably has a little bit of almost everything that’s going to be on the album. It’s got this slight oddness and quirkiness that there is on the album, so it’s a good forerunner. There’s acoustic songs, electronicy things, New Yorky punk funk things with hand claps, all kinds of stuff.”