It took Tennessean Jason Moon Wilkins two years to put together his debut album with the sprawling collection of musicians who work under the name Blue Eyed Blacks. It’s obvious upon first listen that the album, Blue Eyed Soul, is a very thoughtful collection of intelligent folk rock tunes.
Stylistically, Wilkins’ vocals are what take these tracks from good to interesting. His quiet, deep and steady tone is just a little more upbeat than Casiotone for the Painfully Alone’s Owen Ashworth, and he doesn’t fall into the overdramatic habit of droning his way through songs. Instead, his droopy voice and lyrics work hand in hand, in a very satisfying manner. The effect is effortless.
The gents from Blue Eyed Blacks hail from Southall, Tenn., nestled between Franklin and Leiper’s Fork, but their folk rock doesn’t follow a particularly Southern tradition. Somehow the album’s final track, “It Ain’t Over,” manages to have traditional hand-picked instrumentation without sounding hokey.
The effect is a little bit like the Postal Service, the thoughtfulness is the same, but songs like “Wrong Thing” (which has been pre-released to critics and met with solid success) evolve into a lovely example of grown-up ’90s alternative/pop sensibilities. If that’s not enough to convince you, then Wilkins’ sordid past in the music industry, which inspired “Wrong Thing,” may. Wilkins was once held up at gun point by a band mate’s girlfriend, right before that group’s lead singer was incarcerated on charges of murder. Instead of giving up on the industry, he branched out, and decided to focus on his own kind of music. The result is sitting in my CD player, and while it’s not really blowing me away, it’s a solid offering.
Tracks like “Race to the Runway” kind of shake my “solid” good opinion, as they drone on unchanging for the entire song. But soon I’m back on track, as the next song is propelled by some subtle strings and the tasteful female background vocals that pop up in several songs.
Despite working with more musicians than I’d care to list on this album, Wilkins manages to produce a cohesive collection of sweet songs with a lot of attention to detail. I can even forgive him for calling a song “Status: In a Relationship” because the attached song is absolutely brilliant.
Blue Eyed Soul will be released on Chicken Ranch Records Oct. 14, with an official CD release party Oct. 16 at The Basement in Nashville. Visit the band at myspace.com/blueeyedblacks to hear “Wrong Thing,” “Goldrush Heart” and the infamous “Status: In a Relationship.”
