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 Caught in the Carousel - Music Reviews and More
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Jinnrail
Million Lifetimes
Girlfight!
"I hate my life for a living," sings Jinnrail's Reade Tilley. At first this might seem like the kind of slacker sentiment that would have made the early nineties proud, but Tilley is not the idle sort. Self-described in "Friends Like I Am" as a "simple hard working man," the singer and his L.A.-based bandmates are a studied and assiduous outfit who have crafted one of the most rugged, diverse and tightly played albums of this young year. The sixteen numbers that make up Million Lifetimes run the gamut from Britpop to roots rock to grunge without ever breaking stride. "Sell My Friends" is a scruffy rocker; "Hey Man" sounds like Definitely Maybe-era Oasis and "14 Star Wounds" is a blazing rave-up that brings to mind Jane's Addiction and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Jinnrail have paid their dues touring around the United States and the songs here sound road-tested and comfortably broken in. The benefit of this is that the trio has developed a profound understanding of their material and not only do they know all the turns of each composition, they know exactly how to take the corners. That being said, the strength of Million Lifetimes is that it's tight and loose at the same time. Witness the spry "Vermont To Sunset" which sounds like Springsteen's East Coast soul narrated by Squeeze, or "That's How She Do" which has all the languid bluesy swagger of The Black Crowes. And what of "Longterm Thing"? Quite simply, it's a hell of a pop song. "Well I'll bet your sorrows," sings Tilley, "That tomorrow/There's something bright." For Jinnrail, it's hard to argue with that.
—Alex Green
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