Reviewer: Tom Walters

Released: 27th April 2015

Label: Bloodmoss Records

“No guts, no glory,” Jackson Scott yelps in his half-baked murmur at the end of ‘Broken Record Repeat’, the second track from his sophomore album ‘Sunshine Redux’. It may be a small lyric during the final seconds of the song, but it’s definitely an accurate summation of what’s occurred since North Carolina’s Scott recorded his debut ‘Melbourne’ in a ramshackle house with his mates.

Where ‘Melbourne’ was essentially a collection of bits and bobs that put Scott on the playing field as a macabre and ghostly weirdo-artist, ‘Sunshine Redux’ opens the bedroom windows and let’s some fresh air in, allowing Scott’s music to become more wide-eyed and panoramic in the process. There’s an obvious lack of lo-fi sheen, but Scott’s unique take on psychedelic and pop music still shines through - it’s more clear than ever, even.

‘Ripe for Love’ and ‘Pacify’ are both staple Jackson Scott - on the one hand you’ve got the ragged and raw acoustic guitar strumming along gently, trying to break out and form a pop-leaning ballad, and on the other you’ve got this psych freakout going on - a wall of noise slowly wrapping itself around everything. This is the kind of music made for intense headphone exploration, whether it be for reflection late at night or healing after you stumble in at four in the morning.

‘Save the World’ and ‘PRPLMTV’ are perhaps the most intriguing tracks as they see Scott embark on a no holds barred barrage of pure pop music, crafting some of his most infectious choruses to date (just try not to sing along when he yells “save the world!”). Whether it be these jacked-up moments or those hazy, sinking flurries such as the freakish downer ‘Merry Nightmare’, everything Scott has written on ‘Sunshine Redux’ encapsulates all of his best qualities. This time though, those qualities are amplified, pristinely-recorded and have even caught the sun a bit.

Tags: Album Reviews, Reviews, Jackson Scott