The Black Watch Albums (8)
What The Critics Say
Like The Little Engine That Could, Pepé le Pew, and the proverbial mailman, nothing deters John Andrew Fredrick: This is his tenth Black Watch LP in 20 years, not to mention a mini-LP, best-of, and some brave EPs and singles. Since his L.A. foursome almost never tours and thus remains top secret, his motivation to continue making these things can only be that his records are unfailingly of the highest quality -- for those who care about highly erudite, poetic words, finely-hewn guitar-pop concoctions, and unpolished but fitting vocals. Fredrick made records before it was easy; he's still at it because he's itching to express. Icing the Snow Queen is the fifth example this decade alone, and for this one he returns to older raison d’être: twinkling, light-hearted/headed folk-pop. This one's closer to 2002's breezy jewel Jiggery-Pokery, though there's still a more electric, MBV-lite guitar buzz on some quickening indie rockers to show how kittenish the mature cat remains (in the vein of 2006's Bunnymen/Mary Chain-ish Tatterdemalion and 2005's The Hypnotizing Sea). One soaks in the quality songwriting -- even a beaut of a Nick Drake-ish instrumental in "The Jean Rhys Appreciation Society" -- from this bottomless well, with lyrics like catnip for those starved for intelligence in rock (Fredrick's English Ph.D wasn't wasted) and highly-crafted yet unfussy melodies. Hopefully it won't, like the Sound’s Adrian Borland, take Fredrick's death -- as a nonagenarian hence, we hope! -- for greater numbers to discover how good he is. ~ Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
If The Cure met up with Modern English, you might have some semblance of what the Black Watch are trying to transmit. "All These Shivers" is just one example as lead singer and songwriter John Andrew Frederick gives a country-tinged vocal over a somber and seminal alternative rock arrangement. This evolves into a sweeter and faster pop tempo during "Mary Beth," another sleeper tune that sounds like David Byrne at times over a relatively basic emotional rock riff. They often venture around the musical map, although the punk-ish "There Must Be Something Wrong" falters temporarily a minute in. Drummer John Glogovacs is the star of the track, something that is the exception to the rule. From there, a handclapping, '60s acoustic pop melody emanates from the appropriately titled "Beautiful." Thankfully they know when to quit a good thing as it wraps up before three minutes. Perhaps the greatest complement to the album is that there are no outstanding songs, just one solidly crafted pop gem after another like "Bitter Getting Better" and the quirky "The Girl of My Dreams." It sounds like the only thing missing from this classic-sounding tune is the cheesy '80s synth textures à la Modern English. The Middle Eastern-influenced "Floating" never reaches its potential despite the guitars layered in the background. What doesn't work though quite as nicely is the mid-tempo somber pop of "That's Just How It Went This Time Around," recalling Tom Petty circa Wildflowers. This slower, Sunday-afternoon-walk manner continues on the lush "Kensington Gardens." A fine continuation of the pop/rock model they've so elegantly perfected with Jiggery-Pokery and The King of Good Intentions. ~ Jason MacNeil, All Music Guide
'Jiggery-Pokery'
Release Date 10/15/2002
Tracks 13
Label Stone Garden
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Few groups make their best album by far 15 years and seven albums into their career. Then again, perhaps one shouldn't be surprised with L.A.'s the Black Watch, as they've been continually improving all that time. Having thought they'd hit their peak with The King of Good Intentions, it's still a pleasant shock to find this wonderful, breezy pop LP, with such poetic words; warm production; intelligent, catchy songs; and such a surfeit of influences to be a watershed. The mix of John Andrew Fredrick's songwriting and guitar playing and J'Anna Jacoby's beguiling, endlessly creative violin and second-guitar playing has always been a strong one, but Fredrick's never put his pen to better use than on this LP. Where do the raves begin? Why not with the literate debauchery of "The Tennis-Playing Poet Roethke Said": devilishly catchy, clever, and erudite like the Smiths; a floor-tom-smacking last-minute coda that's the dessert; and a call and response between the ringing electric guitar and its encircling, capturing violin? Or how about that "Ticket to Ride"/"Eight Miles High," ending on "What Is the Color of Happiness," with their Brit friend Pat Fish (Jazz Butcher) on lead vocals? What about the more sinister shake-and-shimmy of the Lewis Carroll-referencing "Alice in Lotusland" and "Dear Abbey"? Or the more direct, sunny pop of "Here Today" and "Lovestruck"? Or the "Soon"-like (My Bloody Valentine) damaged-guitar dance-pop of "Come Tomorrow"? Whatever you pick, you revel in the words (why aren't there more English professors who love rock & roll songwriters, like Fredrick?), Fredrick and Tim Boland's supreme production, the droll singing, the saucy blend of styles, the super-crisp songs, and the lovely passages that abound throughout. You want craft, heart, brains, hooks, warmth, and pop that sticks to the ribs? You want this. ~ Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Though I preferred the luscious, elegant textures and nicer, multi-instrument, baroque arrangements of The King of Good Intentions (which sounded lovingly like America's answer to the Go-Betweens), the Black Watch remain that most distinct of luxuries: extremely literate and cultivated, well-written and produced, rainforest-lush pop. On Lime Green Girl, the L.A. quartet returns to the prominent, more hearty ringing guitars they began with. They proffer an organic but accomplished guitar/bass/drums/violin concoction for the beautiful, spring-fresh tunes leader John Andrew Fredrick composes. This back-to-basics baring doesn't obfuscate his continued maturation as a tunesmith, bringing out the deftly poetic qualities of his lyrics. And he wields his voice as a confident instrument, cutting through the tolling peal of the guitars with real presence. Meanwhile his violinist/guitarist partner J'Anna Jacoby deftly fills in the few spaces left with her typically sonorous refinement. Typical is the hypnotic, throbbing "Seven Rollercoasters," a mid-tempo breezer that digs in like a houseguest you can't get rid of and eats all your Doritos. Superb! Then, on the last third, the band suddenly, surprisingly turns up the throttle considerably. With Jacoby at the vocal helm, the LP starts kicking with buzzing guitars and zipping, post-punk indie pop wallopers. This is a side Black Watch have only approximated before, closer to vintage Wire, 1988 My Bloody Valentine, the Last, or 100 Flowers' offspring than the Go-Be's or Smiths. Excellent. You wonder how many of these modestly impressive songs they need to release before the rest of the scene lavishes praise on them. And because they tack on seven tracks from their previous four LPs to aid the curious and unfamiliar, Lime Green Girl becomes even more imperative listening. Some people just know how to write. May they never break up. (P.O. Box 262, Kingston, NH 03848; roy@saltwaterrecords.com, www.saltwaterrecords.com) ~ Jack Rabid, All Music Guide
'The King of Good Intentions'
Release Date 10/16/1999
Tracks 10
Label Not Lame Recordings
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
It hasn't been easy for the Black Watch. This makes five records on five different labels. But like wandering the desert in an endless search of bountiful waterholes instead of mere drops of cactus juice, such wayward struggles have just made this fledgling band more determined. Each album, three years apart, has been better than the last, and if the quantum-leap The King of Good Intentions finds a spot in the stereos of discerning pop fans, the Black Watch will have found their oasis at last. For this release, they've pared down to the two essentials: singer/songwriter/guitarist John Andrew Frederick and multi-instrumentalist J'Anna Jacoby. They're aided by a phalanx of L.A. underground musicians playing the other parts, and together the assemblage has made a minor masterpiece. Enjoying by far the best production of his career, Frederick seems to have a Go-Betweens jones on such beguiling, handsome, fertile pop as "The Wrong People," "Hey Hey Hey," and the more organic, skipping "Obligatory Blues." Jacoby's exceptional violin used to save the group's weaker work; now it adds translucent sparkle to a freshly painted canvas. And the multiple times a piano drops in for coffee in the background, it's the sort of ageless pop moment you spend hours in CD stores looking for. As a result, the poet Frederick finally has a backdrop to match his abilities. Always a cutting wordsmith, he's full of acerbic disregard for those whose lives have crossed his. "I suppose she'll go upstairs with anyone that mumbles that he cares" he gibes at one point, typical of the austere subject matter. Nothing happening in pop? No talent, no craft, nothing to say in pop today? Buy this, then. (P.O. Box 2266, Fort Collins, CO 80522-2266; popmusic@notlame.com) ~ Jack Rabid, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With some friends helping along the way -- notably Medicine/Electric Company guru Brad Laner on guitar for the rockin' "See You Around," a wonderful Jacoby-sung tune that also features one of her best violin solos yet -- Amphetamines ups the general noise factor just a slight touch, but it's enough to make this distinct from previous efforts. Stepping away from the clear lines of Flowering, the band adds more studio sound to the songs this time around, while still relying on the brisk, sprightly but not twee power of their performances to carry the extra sonic decoration. Jacoby and Frederick harmonize wonderfully, as on the opening "Come Inside," the sweet jumper "Just Get Away" and the slow-to-faster "Tulip." Noticeably, Frederick sounds less like Ian McCulloch than on previous efforts -- the hints are still present in his voice, but whether it's the way he's singing or how he's produced, one doesn't immediately flash back to "The Cutter" or "A Promise" every time. The Black Watch still have plenty to say on the subject of romance gone wrong or troubling, and do so with an understated fire, as with the droney "The King of Good Intentions"; on other songs like "Letter," a slow chimer, general personal concerns get an airing without sounding too maudlin or self-pitying. Still pursuing their own muse despite the grunge/punk universe around them, the Black Watch always know how to touch the heart and mind just so. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Right from the brilliant opening song, "Terrific," the listener is clearly in good if familiar hands -- a brisk, clipped power pop/U.K.new wave rocker that eschews feedback in favor of a clean punch, all topped by the lovely violin work by Jacoby, showing why she's been in demand as a side person on a number of other recordings, and a sweet-and-sour lyric sung by both Frederick and Jacoby. Familiar hands, though, because "Terrific" also showcases one oddly inescapable element of the Black Watch, at least at this time -- Frederick's drop-dead vocal similarity to Ian McCulloch, maintained persistently throughout the record. It gets especially noticeable on "Jennifer, Jennifer" -- though it's a great number, a gentle romantic thing with a neat Beatles lyrical reference to boot, it's incredibly similar to McCulloch's "Candleland" (right down to the way Jacoby joins Frederick on harmonizing a line in the exact same way and same point in the song). All this said, Flowering is still an underrated gem of an album; released right when Nirvana and Pearl Jam hit, and on a small California label at that, its crisp, pop-friendly-with-a-bite feel got undeservedly lost in the grunge onslaught. Other recommended numbers include the ruminative "Jaded" and the fine album closer "The Stars Come Down." ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
