Jebo released their first album, "Sinking Without You" in 2006. Since that release, in fact during the recording of this follow up album, there has been a change in personnel with Kevin J Messenger (vocals) and Gianfredo Konig (bass) replacing James Hollingsworth and Lawrie Jones. Rob Allen (guitars), Jeff France (drums) & Nick O'Neill (keyboards) complete the lineup and provide the continuity from the first album.

 

Their first album got a decent review here at Mood Swings due to the fact I could tell it was good debut album, even if maybe it didn't push all the buttons of my personal musical tastes.

 

My initial impression of this second album was that the 'intelligent modern pop' style which felt a bit forced on the first album, seemed to have matured and that the band were more comfortable with their sound. Well, at least, I'm certainly more comfortable with it!

 

One other review that I spotted online talked about this album being more contemporary than the first one which kind of surprised me. OK, I heard a song on the radio a couple of days ago (I didn't catch who it was by) which reminded me of these guys, but before that I would have said that this album had more of a retro feel compared to the debut.

 

Admittedly it might just be a reaction of having completed a review of gothic/symphonic metal band The Murder of my Sweet who have a 'kitchen sink' approach to their music, but what really struck me the first time I listened to this is the sense of space in the music. The music feels calm and relaxed, with the songs taking the time to develop naturally. Natural is a word that sprang to mind many times during listening to the album. That feel is helped by the largely acoustic approach taken on many tracks.

 

Having just scanned my review of the debut I notice that I mentioned Deacon Blue. They were one of the few pop orientated bands that made into my collection in the 80s. Jebo, in their current form, remind of Deacon Blue in that their brand of pop sits comfortably within my mainly rock album collection.