Eclectically Challenged

Cosmo Jarvis is certainly an interesting artist. He’s not one to allow himself to be pigeonholed into a particular genre and this is extremely evident on his second album Is The World Strange Or Am I Strange?. In fact the only thing that you can say for definite about him through this, is just how socially conscious he is; a fact which is unsurprising to anyone who’s heard him before.

When then listening to the album, then, it is important to understand that this is an artist not bound by specific musical genres as most are, but instead the unifying factor of his songs is the overwhelming sense of engaging with the world around him. Take current single My Day, for example, a raucous rock song that speaks almost nostalgically of the trappings of modern day life, everything from paying ‘silly cash to go to festivals’ to people ‘spitting in the streets’; all protested with an anger that ensures a certain resonance as you realise that in 20-30 years he envisages this as how he’ll remember the early 21st century.

Admittedly, not all songs are quite so forceful in their outspoken nature, with tracks such as Blame It On Me and title track Is The World Strange? taking a much more introspective approach to the world around him. The latter, however, moves between a questioning of himself and the recognition that this self-doubt has been brought about by putting on a pretence to encourage others to like him and, ironically, how they were happy to accept it; a situation that many are likely to find painfully familiar.

Considering this album is so focused on “bigger issues” it’s probably reasonable to expect to find yourself feeling preached at. Jarvis, though, has managed to avoid that pitfall by ensuring that there is an underlying playfulness to his songs. Whether it’s by transferring a serious subject to a setting with overwhelming theatrical connotations as he does in Gay Pirates or lyrically, for example in The Talking Song when he says, tongue-in-cheek, how a ‘lady with a pram…might go crazy’ if he offers to help her because she might take offence at the insinuation she’s weak; resulting in a cheeky derision of the ridiculous paranoia initiated by political correctness.

On a purely musical level be prepared to be surprised. When he sets out to use his voice to its full potential, as on Let Me Out Of My Head there is an amazingly warm tone to it which, admittedly, is sometimes hidden behind the subject matter of the songs themselves but is immensely easy to listen to when given the chance to shine. As mentioned earlier, you also find that between the songs there are various genre explorations. I have seen this album classified as Folk, which is understandable when you consider his use of the acoustic but which belies the country-infused Blame It On Me or The Talking Song which, with its rapping, has an almost urban sound to it (and for some reason also makes me think of Rolf Harris’ The Court Of King Caractacus!). It is, effectively, a multi-facted album.

This album comes hot on the heels of the debut release from Ed Sheeran which, while that was always destined to garner more success, also received mixed reviews from those disappointed it wasn’t as socially-centred as they wanted it to be. You have to wonder whether this is the album they wanted him to make instead. With this second release Cosmo Jarvis has ensured that while his outspokenness may not result in the type of unbridled attention other artists relish, he will, for now, be recognised as a musician capable of and willing to speak with an honesty that most others would shy away from.

My Day is currently available to download.
Is The World Strange Or Am I Strange? is released Monday 26th September.