Jump Ship - whatisthisandwhy

Billed somewhere between Tool, Bjork and Lamb, Jump Ship have turned out a slick and potentially popular chunk of breakbeat-infused alternative pop. Its richness in cleanly executed falsetto-jumps from a talented lady singer and the use of cello add depth to the melancholy. However, as contrary as this may sound, Louise Coady's voice is just too nice. It's too polished and shiny. Likewise, the music is so cleanly captured and communicated that it lacks character or any real humanity. What is obviously intended as catharsis manifests rather as emotional posturing, with all the affecting sincerity of a less “metal” Evanescence. Frankly whatisthisandwhy reeks of teen melodrama: the sort of album you bashfully admit to owning years after the temporary infatuation with its overdone and slightly soulless lamentations has worn off. Paring back the production and allowing some personality to shine through might lead to greater things for these folks in future. [Chris Cusack]