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Jeremie Albino’s Our Time In The Sun is the stuff of jukebox diners, a singalong soundtrack to nights of pain and passion…it’s also huge on melodic pleasantries.
There’s a touching sense of nostalgia linked to Dan Auerbach’s label Easy Eye Sound. With a top interracial roster, Easy Eye is a credit to the Black Keys’ main man and his devotion to new talent. As a producer and co-writer, he’s doubtless absorbed much from the Muscle Shoals studio and Stax label stories. It’s no stretch to say that several elements in both setups endure today in Auerbach’s work. They’re also present on Our Time In The Sun, Easy Eye’s first outing with Jeremie Albino, where no single instrument is allowed to dominate. There’s also a sense of musicians working in tandem, not isolation, driven by drumming that’s never explosive. Percussive tension really can be found through restraint. Just think of Charlie Watts.
Albino, like most of his labelmates, offers the kind of funky-country-southern-soul that might never be mainstream but still attracts willing devotees. A farmer’s son from rural Ontario, Albino’s trips to sell produce in Toronto turned into busking sessions on the city’s streets. His sparse lyrics drip bluesy emotions, with hot Louisiana sauce stirred into the music. Notably, his sung voice has the wry acceptance of someone who’s been sittin’ on the dock’s bay a while, wastin’ time.
Fuzzy guitar chugs and horn-spiced backing add to the charming melody on opener I Don’t Mind Waiting. Albino’s vocals have an ardent clarity, with a little rust and dust in his genteel drawl. Baby Ain’t It Cold Outside goes for redemptive uplift and a strutting chorus, just ripe for a Yola or Lady Blackbird to check out. Indeed, these simple seductive tunes could be made deeply personal by all manner of divas or samplers. Think crunchy analog and nuggets of rare groove. Maybe think Otis Redding, classic Stones and Ted Hawkins too.
Albino sounds more at peace than in sorrow on Let Me Lay My Head, despite some aching vocal strains. Next up, his tone crackles with regret amid shivering guitar slivers on Our Time In The Sun. Rolling Down The 405 is robust bluesy pop from the Fogerty lineage, while So Many Ways To Say I Love You finds Albino absorbing Van Morrison’s plush romantics. By contrast, come the boogie-charged Struggling With The Bottle, where Albino seeks salvation after partying hard, and the soul-shaking zest of Dinner Bell. Finally, we go full-tint 1950s on Hold Me Tight, in a storm of doo-wop harmonies and skiffle shuffles.
Our Time In The Sun is the stuff of jukebox diners, a singalong soundtrack to nights of pain and passion. In studio terms, any cracks or grit have likely been rubbed out by Auerbach with old sandpaper, not new sterile wipes. A slinky, sticky and scratchy album, it’s also huge on melodic pleasantries.
Our Time in the Sun (1st November 2024) Easy Sun Sounds
Bandcamp: https://jeremiealbinomusic.bandcamp.com/album/our-time-in-the-sun
Stream and other links: https://click.ees.link/ourtimeinthesun
