I to Sky

Music, like every other art form, will always require saving from itself.

As genres grow old and famous artists become spent, the standard becomes ripe for a change. In poetry, Ezra Pound called this the need for writers to ‘make it new’. In rock terms, this translates to coming along with your brash new band and blasting the turkeys right out of the water. The point is not to join the old groups in the musical stratosphere. The point is to steal their good stuff, ditch their bad stuff, rewrite the rules, then beat them silly.

Friends, JJ72 may just have achieved that aim. Enter the maelstrom of I To Sky and you will hear the joyous sound of three musicians happening upon great musical moments, expressing them passionately and exuberantly, and then casting them aside to alight upon new gems.

Their first record had promise; this new album fulfils that promise and promises much more. There is a swagger about I To Sky, an overwhelming air of confidence. In ways, this record comes on like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Lead singer and songwriter Mark Greaney believes in himself, ergo he makes an album worth believing in. Anthemic tracks like ‘Serpent Sky’, ‘Always and Forever’, ‘I Saw A Prayer’ and ‘Formulae’ are hook-laden, complexly-arranged and perfectly-produced treats. Quieter moments like ‘Oiche Mhaith’ and ‘Sinking’ also creep in deep under the skin.

Admittedly, Greaney still has much to learn. His voice remains an acquired taste; as he dips and soars through the registers, he often eschews control in favour of strained and unconvincing vocal posturings. Lyrically, too, he needs to remember that his words must work as common sense before they can embrace any higher meanings. Lines like “I saw a prayer drift by your eyes,” are pretentious and really say nothing.

But these are minor flaws in an album replete with delights. JJ72 are making music sound important again.

Watch them soar.