Reviews

the lost days of captain johnny sinclair

released 2/15/05

Spill It

The Vibrating Begins

The Vibrating Needle Recording Collective, a D.I.Y. home-recorders collaborative comprised of several local bedroom Phil Spectors, will present its first two CD projects -- from for algernon and Folk? -- with one release party, on Friday at Downtown's Crush. The event features live performances from for algernon, Dayton's Sleepybird, The Newbees and Bulletproof Charm, plus a special audio/visual presentation of the new self-titled Folk? disc.

· Singer/songwriter Jason Wells is the mastermind behind for algernon. Wells -- also a member of the Vibrating Needle-affiliated Minni-Thins -- got his start a few years ago as a solo acoustic performer, and he has more recently been getting into film scoring. The new for algernon disc, The Lost Days of Captain Johnny Sinclair, is reflective of both of those musical guises. Wells' songs have a fragile intimacy and, as a craftsman, he shows a keen attention to songwriting detail. But the spacious ambiance of Sinclair and Wells' use of an impossibly wide instrumental array (cello, flute, French horn, melodica) show his writing to be more "big picture" than lo-fi. Never confined by his verse/chorus structures, Wells' tells his stories with tasteful, just-right adornment (the sweeping strings on the lush "SWPF," the sad, dirty piano on the downtrodden "Seattle," the layered harmonies and keyboards throughout). Wells seems to make music like a film director; the skeletal structures are the scripts (and they are usually good ones, tending toward the moody Indie Pop side of things), but the surroundings are just as important to the final result. Wells' vision often overshoots the home-recorded production quality; like Elliott Smith, he's the kind of singer/songwriter you'd like to see get a big budget to record, just to hear what he could come up with on a broader canvas. But Wells works the lo-fi aesthetic in as just another conveyance tool, helping him to create the pure, unsullied moods he so proficiently communicates with each track. (vibratingneedle.net)

for the album:

remember why we ran

released 7/26/2006

-Citybeats The Year in Your Ear 01/03/07- "One of The Best Releases of the Year and the Best Ever from Wells"

-Wells Goes Big(ger) from Citybeat 07/06

by Mike Breen

Wells' previous releases (remember is the third long-player under the for algernon name and his fourth overall) have been isolated affairs, with the multi-instrumentalist recording most of the sounds himself. It was an approach reflected in the songs, which seethe melancholy and float on intimate atmospherics. While the songs on remember retain much of the close-quarters mood from past releases, Wells incorporates a large supporting cast this time out, including the members of his live band and local musician friends like Misty Perholtz (The Newbees) and Andrew Geonetta (Bulletproof Charm).

The tasteful ornamentation (organ, piano, synths, melodica, additional lead guitars) is enhancing and engaging, but it's the songwriting that's the centrifugal force of Wells' output, and remember why we ran contains some of his best songs yet. He cleverly uses a running theme throughout the record, based on two people -- one just out of a long relationship and the other yearning to get out of one -- who connect but ultimately fall apart because they're looking for happiness in others instead of within themselves.

In lieu of grand poetic statements, Wells tells the story through the characters' own words. It's a brilliant device, as the lyrics often sound like they could have been cobbled from actual conversations and arguments overheard through thin walls. On the track "Salt," for example, we hear this exchange, which should register with anyone who's had a "We need to talk" moment with a lover: "So go on, do what you want to/Unlike you, I give you support/I think it's safe to say, that we're losing this game/And money's not the only thing we're short."

The songs continue in Wells' low-key Indie Pop tradition, with the wispy, emotional resonance of Wilco songs like "She's a Jar" or the work of amazing Chicago singer/songwriter Chris Mills. Built around gentle acoustic strumming, Wells' songs feature magnetic melodies that go from unassuming and somber ("The Army That Is You & Me," "That Angel's Song I Heard") to buoyant and classic ("Grey Ghost," "September of When"). With remember why we ran, Wells has crafted a poignant, humble masterpiece that will haunt almost anyone who has ever experienced relationship woes and charm any Indie music fan who lives for honest, emotive songwriting. (foralgernon.com)

an ungentlemanly act at sea

released in august of 07

reviews coming soon....