Swagger Jack
The feral blood of Swagger Jack
"Another endearingly crackly
lo-fi offering from the cult Last Visible Dog label – this time from New
Zealander Anthony Milton (who runs the equally collectible Pseudoarcana label).
This time around the prolific Antipodean takes up the fictitious character of
Swagger Jack, who one can only speculate is a drunken pirate, who was maybe
washed up on far away shores, clothes all but ripped off, and left to fend for
himself on some wild island. Soon enough he found a supply of some kind of
alcohol and spent the rest of his days in a half awake stupor waiting for help
to never come. Wait a minute that sounds strangely like the plot of everyone’s
favourite TV show Lost doesn’t it? Coincidence? Who can say – let’s see if this
album shoots up the Amazon charts eh? The music’s worth getting all misty eyed
over though, eschewing the usual LVD noise/drone for full on singer/songwriter
business, ‘The Ferral Blood…’ is a surprisingly pleasant listening, bearing a
distinct resemblance to some early Velvet Underground recordings I seem to
remember hearing. It’s beautifully recorded too, with all the dirt and grit you
simply can’t get when you just use a computer – vocals are muffled and
half-audible, instruments are crackling and distorting, and this actually makes
the record more involving and a hell of a lot more pleasant to listen to than if
it was ‘clean’. Another perfect addition to anyone’s bulging collection of
abstract folk, psychey weirdness or outsider music, Mr. Milton has introduced us
to a new character and we want to know what happens next."
--Boomkat Music
Swagger Jack might draw comparison to John Fahey's Blind Joe Death, if only that both characters are completely fictional. Fans should have no problem detecting that this is New Zealand's Antony Milton in full-on song-writing mode (versus his noisier projects such as AM and Nether Dawn.)
Self described hillbilly/bluegrass/folk music, Mr. Jack nonetheless veers closer to the true NZ roots of folk: This Kind of Punishment, The Terminals, Roy Montgomery, Alastair Galbraith and even The Clean. Swagger Jack's veins pump the feral blood of the Velvet Underground, Joy Division and Wire (Chair's missing)!
How all this becomes synthesized into edgy-folk-like songs about camping is hard to say. A deeply creative and melodic album that makes sense in New Zealand, but may be completely beguiling for the rest of us.