Jump Little Children
's first full-length under the umbrella of
Atlantic
has the band moving away from their ragged Irish
indie folk
to concentrate on a louder, more up-front alternative
rock/pop
approach. Produced by
Brad Jones
(
Matthew Sweet
,
Imperial Drag
), there's an accent on swelling, instantly gracious choruses, but the band seems a bit too tentative in their new direction to infuse the songs with the self-belief necessary for the music to rise above American
indie
convention. A distortion-filled
"Strawberry Fields Forever"
"Violent Dreams"
) and the
XTC
by way of
Beck
"Habit"
are clever, and two of the strongest songs of their career. It's the apparent influence of touring with
Seven Mary Three
and
Rusted Root
or having
"Cathedrals"
played in
IKEA
that seems to have done the most damage. ~ Dean Carlson