From Boston, Massachusetts come from the Americana stylings of Pesky J Nixon. The panel went in to see what they could find.
Alice Sage: There are absolutely no sharp corners in this band. No edges or complexity either. Just unbelievably nauseatingly uplifting knees-up country and saccharine ballads – a bit like Barenaked Ladies with no sense of humour. Slow, sad song Fade is listenably gentle and morose – it doesn’t punch you in the back of the head with its mediocrity. Though that’s still not a recommendation. Generally speaking, this band are as middle of the road as it is humanly possible to be without lying down in the central reservation. I almost couldn’t let myself listen to the whole album. I listened to the lyrics of Atlanta and felt the instant, violent urge to kill people. If you like inoffensive, well produced, boring, country-style rock you will like this. Having said all that, they are probably a good laugh live.
James Robinson: Maybe if you’d never heard any music before you’d see the merits in this. It’s glossy, features lots of slide guitar and husky, ‘emotive’ vocals. It would certainly fit very well on daytime music-television or at a particularly intense moment on one of those teenage dramas that they have in America. That doesn’t make it okay though. The world doesn’t need any more rubbish country-music for people with no souls to listen to on their car stereos during the school run; Garth Brooks still sells records by the thousand. Grandmas and people who enjoy line-dancing might like it; I would sooner jam biros into my ears than listen to it again.
Ian Parker: Pesky J Nixon bring a strong traditional vibe and even, on Lord Have Mercy, some tones of gospel, which the country and roots fan in me always welcomes. Atlanta is the standout track with its simple, easy tune, but I must confess to some nagging doubts. They remind me a lot of a band I used to go and see play a lot when living in Tennessee. They were always a good night out, but couldn’t translate that live sound on to record. Cracking that going forward will be the key for Pesky J Nixon.
Check out Pesky J Nixon for yourself here.
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