In case anyone was keeping attendance records, please accept my apologies for missing last weeks’ post.  I was busy at work, blah blah blah.  Sorry.

This week’s post, accordingly, references not the band Low (2 weeks back!) but my failure to post last week.  Jeremy Jay has had the foresight NOT ONLY to be one of my absolute favorite musicians at the moment, but to record songs entitled “Can We Disappear,” “Till we Meet Again,” “Escape to Aspen,” etc. etc.  Guy loves absence and vacations and I’ll take it as an excuse to write about him here.

Jeremy Jay is on K records, and presents somewhat of a twee, faux naive personna, but his obsessions are more Clientele and Aislers Set than Beat Happening.  Melancholy, rainy days and pea coats spent dancing to 45s in a chalet, not picnicking with your best girl by the car.  My own “best girl” claims there’s an obvious Smiths sound to Jeremy’s voice but, to me, he sounds simultaneously less melodramatic and more glammed up than our pompadoured friend.  Jay Reatard is the last artist I remember noticing who cranked both accoustic and electric rhythm guitars equally high in the mix, giving them a real punch over the bass line, and somehow this ends up making everyone sound (to me) like Bowie playing Queen Bitch on repeat.  Jeremy Jay uses this method to great effect, which is appropriate considering he reminds me of Bowie anyway, down to the fragile good looks and voice.  In the main, early recorded tracks tended to be slower and more thoughtful than their live versions but, recently, the two seem to have reached a happy medium, and swooning synth lines have replaced piano on his most recent albums.

With what reasonably consistutes a “prolific” output (3 full lengths in a couple of years, plus several EPs and singles) there are definitely a few works of uneven quality in Jay’s discography, though his percentage is improving rapidly.  I’ve included my 5 favorite songs below in unashamed fanboy glee.

• Escape to Aspen Escape to Aspen
• We Were There We Were There
• Where Could We Go Tonight Where Could We Go Tonight
• Slow Dance Slow Dance
• In This Lonely Town In This Lonely Town