Joel Plaskett - Down At The Khyber

  by Geraint Jones

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

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On ‘Down At The Khyber’, their second album (The Khyber being a club and recording studio in the band’s home town) The Joel Plaskett Emergency initially seem to owe a noticeable debt to Memphis pop legends Big Star. Operating out of the somewhat less recognisable musical outpost of Halifax, Nova Scotia they eventually reveal themselves to have enough talent of their own to transcend the more obvious points of reference. Having already nurtured the likes of Sloan, The Guthries and The Heavy Blinkers as well as Joel Plaskett’s former band Thrush Hermit, the talents of Plaskett’s new band should help raise awareness of Halifax as the home to a fertile and innovative pool of talent in its own right. Joel Plaskett’s occasionally strained vocal delivery may prove a little grating at times, but it's a key ingredient of the band’s make up and worth persevering with. Although the brittle guitar sound, crisp chord changes, trebly production and subtle country embellishments are all hallmarks of Big Star’s sound, Joel Plaskett adds plenty of interesting traits of his own to his material. Opener and title track 'Down At The Khyber' has a wonderful rumbling bass line throughout and a superb fluid guitar solo that brings to mind Tom Verlaine. 'Clueless Wonder' in contrast slows the pace and has a loose more acoustic arrangement punctuated by moments of ambient psychedelia. 'Unconditional Love' starts like some long lost soul ballad with Plaskett emphasising the mood by putting every ounce of emotion into the song. When he sings “Are you ready to tell me you want me, ready, please come back to haunt me”, you know that he’s been hurt and his plea for reconciliation is genuinely heartfelt. 'True Patriot Love', the album’s most upbeat number finds Plaskett gently mocking Canadian patriotism. Elsewhere on 'Blinding Light' there’s a lovely guest vocal by Ruth Minniken (The Guthries, The Heavy Blinkers) before the album draws to a close on the near epic 'Light Of The Moon', which begins as a ramshackle acoustic campfire sing-a-long before mutating into a full blown guitar blow-out and just as unexpectedly fading acoustically again with just mandolin and guitar. Joel Plaskett’s intermittently over pitched vocal delivery may provoke the odd flinch at first, but with his intriguing, at times, surreal lyricism and an inventive albeit often eccentric way around a tune, that’s only a quibble which soon dissipates after several plays. An abundance of riches, don’t let ‘Down At The Khyber’ pass you by.

Track Listing:-

1 Down At The Khyber
2 There’s Love In The Air
3 Maybe We Should Just Go Home
4 Clueless Wonder
5 This Is A Message
6 Unconditional Love
7 Waiting To Be Discovered
8 True Patriot Love
9 Blinding Light
10 It’s Catching On
11 Cry Together
12 Light Of The Moon

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