Jack Adaptor - 'Road Rail River'

Jack Adaptor say they "live in a two-albums-at-once world", but with 'Road Rail River' being the second of this half-year so far along with 'Right Royal', you have to fear for the quality of that internet-only release. That world consists mostly of young men desperate to make music who can construct songs as easily as lego and of a similar aesthetic quality – it takes outrageous ability to be so productive and to keep a high standard. 'Road Rail River' is a folk-pop album, keen on soft ballads ("I carved your name into my heart" etc.) and Gomez-esque lazy strum-alongs, with a similarly Southern US flavour. Broken Talk begins with a brief sample from that area's protest-speech era, and with it's harmonica and fuzz-filtered vocals is a rare highlight on an otherwise mediocre album. Suffice to say Jack Adaptor's talent is somewhat less than outrageous. [Ally Brown]