Stockholm based Jack Adamant started off with Italian band Valerihana way back in 2007 and after a fair amount of touring and an album 'Out Of Regulation', kicked off his solo career in 2017 plying his trade of well-crafted songs firmly influenced by those late 80s / 90s US indie /alt-rock bands such as Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. 'Obscure Places And Cupboards' has been out since Summer 2022 and is Jack's second full length album (after 2019's 'Unkind') - a short, sharp blast of thirty minutes of hooky power-pop, pop-punk and indie rock. Recorded mostly at home with drums provided by friend Ged, it's an album that should find favour with those of you who hanker after the glory days of the 90s US underground.
Mostly consisting of catchy, upbeat songs (that can disguise some melancholic lyrics about life's difficulties), 'Obscure Places And Cupboards' does however find space for different guitar textures and feel to the songs. The pop-punk of 'You First' and 'Astray' - both great 'jump-around' songs - mix with the heavier guitar stomp of 'In My Lie', the reflective, slower 'Space Frame' and 'Faithless Universe', the irrepressible 'chug' of 'Brush Your Teeth With A Smile' and the intertwining guitar-work on opener 'Itchy Memories' and 'Leaves' for an engaging and varied listen. Never overstaying their welcome - most songs are under or a little over three minutes with only a couple ('Itchy Memories' and 'Faithless Universe') edging towards four minutes - the tuneage here is first class and shows Jack's songwriting skills in a fine light. The short 'Here And Still' - a little over a minute - brings this enjoyable album to a close.
Well worth a listen, 'Obscure Places And Cupboards' is a fine album full of great songwriting and good playing and will hopefully introduce Jack Adamant to a few more alt-rock fans out there. An excellent follow-on from 'Unkind', the album shows Jack going from strength to strength and hopefully foreshadows more fine songs from him in the months ahead. Recommended!
'Obscure Places And Cupboards' is available on all the major digital sites and CD and cassette versions can be picked up from Jack's bandcamp page - www.jackadamant.bandcamp.com or his website - www.jackadamant.com