Jackson Analogue - 'West Of Here' (Island) Released 17/04/06

When we first put our copy of this EP, the first taste of Jackson Analogue's forthcoming debut album, onto our pretty popular brand of MP3 player, all the titles came up in French. Crazy! The Isle Of Wight five-piece take their inspiration not from Parisian nouvelle-pop but instead mine the vocals of Eddie Vedder and the curiously ageless yet straight-faced denim rock much beloved of the likes of Neil Young (think 'After The Goldrush'), The Black Crowes (if you must), and, er, Pearl Jam. Despite these reference points, it's the sparse string-driven 'Disco' that's the best thing on here, and could be Jackson Analogue's passage to the mainstream. Sturdy stuff then. We like the word sturdy.