[this article was originally published July 5th 2010 for Examiner.com]
Much like Sebadoh and Wilco, Jay Flash (the performance moniker of Jeff Flashinski) enhances ultimately very simplistic songs with caustic production effects and unconventional mixes. It’s one of the main indicators of true “alternative” rock (otherwise, why label it alternative?), and with the Know, Alone album being so basic at its core, it’s just the exact dose of necessary dressing.
The most recurring effects found here are dubbed and muted percussion and liberal reverb on the vocals. It throws a lightweight, dreamy blanket over the music, and the intricately placed piano that rises and fades throughout the collection make the whole of all 13 songs linear to each other. The segue from “Piano Instrumental No. 3” to “A Song To Sing” most strongly illustrates this in the careful way the piano links the former to the latter with relative ease. Interesting, because there isn’t a discernible connection between the two, but credit could be given in this sense to the arrangement; rarely is there an album where the strongest songs are placed so unusually in the tracklist.
Anyone who takes notice of common occurrences in popular music releases will support the following outline and explanation: The strongest tracks, or the “hits”, are more often than not found as either the first, second or third song. Occasionally, for the sake of the album’s continuity (if this is a concern in the collection), one of those “carrying” songs will come up as the 7th or 8th track. The longer “jams” are placed toward the end of the album, and the weakest song is usually the second to last, or just after a strong one placed in the middle of the album. It’s a convoluted formula, maybe, but it repeats itself indefinitely on any album ever released. Think of it as the equivalent to editing a movie. There’s the beginning that builds into the action and core events, then gradually supsides and climaxes, followed by the conclusion. Sometimes the beginning busts out of the gates headlong into the action, then explains itself and builds back into the formula before it ends. What makes an “album” is that same kind of flow from song to song - whether or not there is any correlation between them. The idea is that when listened to from start to finish, you feel as though you’ve experienced a series of means to an end. Know, Alone mangles this completely, but it surprisingly does not destroy the album’s overall structure.
The first song, “The Verdict”, is a weaker track, and placed appropriately at the beginning. It lacks the production nuances of the other twelve songs, but still fits in, so putting it first to get it out of the way is a fine placement (think back to Primus’ Brown Album, and the song “The Return of Sathington Willoughby” - a throwaway track, but it’s a good introduction). “Head in the Sand” , “Waiting For The Rain” and “Piano Instrumental No.3” are all good builders, and demonstrate the overall mood of the CD - but they could never carry it. “A Song To Sing” - at track 4 - is where the album really hits its stride, and then carries on through the Coldplay-esque “Heading For Sunshine” up until “My Country” (track 10) where the album finally is at its strongest. From this point forward, the listener is left wishing the album weren’t about to conclude in three more songs.
Granted, only a true music nerd would behold and appreciate an artist for something as diligently technical as his album’s track arrangement, but there should be more respect given (and notice taken) for this kind of valor. Jay Flash’s deadpan, often cynical lyrical observations, though brilliant (“they always said that you couldn’t do anything, please sign right here on the dotted line...” is a prime example of such biting social commentary in the song “Head In The Sand”), can often fall on deaf ears - people hate to be made to think about things too hard. When this is the case, it takes things like unique, almost “off-sounding” production and arrangements deliberately ordered to constantly renew the listeners’ attention. It can foster a personal experience for an audience and, at the same time, make the artist stand out in their consciousness. It’s a surrealist interpretation they may not be able to put their fingers on, but it’s a familiar feeling they might know... and maybe even alone.
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