Album Review: Jonny - Jonny

Considering the weight of expectation that naturally comes with pairing up two such immensely melodic songwriters as Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake and former Gorky's Zygotic Mynci frontman Euros Childs – both of whom can boast a long, rich history of accomplishments and diehard fanbases – it's pleasing to see both men approaching this, their debut LP under the Jonny moniker, with a lightness of touch and carefree attitude that is, for the most part, to be applauded.
 
While tracks like gorgeous lead single ‘Candyfloss’ and ‘You Was Me’ take the greatest advantage of both men’s faux-naïve approach to songwriting – all neat harmonies, schoolfriend lyrics and simple arrangememnts – things sadly go awry on the flippant pub-pop of ‘Waiting Around For You’ and the '70s stomp of ‘Goldmine’. Elsewhere, the colourful Fannyisms of ‘Circling The Sun’ and beautiful piano-ballad closer ‘Never Alone’ both show what they are capable of as a duo, which makes ‘Cave Dance’'s pop-prog wig-outs and the deliberately ridiculous ‘Bread’ all the more disappointing.
 
Essentially, then, this is a thirteen-track album that outstays it’s welcome by a good four or five numbers. Jonny had a classic mini-album or EP in the making here for sure, but a lack of quality control has led to them delivering a fairly average long-player. Blake and Childs sound like they're both having fun throughout, certainly, but that doesn't necessarily mean the listener will follow suit. As a result, Jonny lives up to the reputation of those involved only occasionally.