Get Hooked - Gone Fishin'

It’s an honour to write about this fresh, delightful jazz album born out of Nottingham, from the very same streets and university buildings I find myself walking every day. Personally, I’d signpost this release to fans of The Orielles, Kruangbin, Michael Kiwanaku or Unknown Mortal Orchestra - or vice versa!

Despite being the first album release from indie jazz band Gone Fishin’, Get Hooked feels carefully crafted, rather than being a serendipitous escapade, as many jazz records are. From the opening track, Uncle Tony, it’s obvious that the group know their stuff. They aren’t just musicians, but jazz historians - blending the enticing harmonies and tones of classic jazz ballads with an approachable indie production and writing; Gone Fishin’ waste no time in transporting you to your bed for a Sunday lie-in.

It is bouncy and fun, joyful and danceable, with a tight, crafty ensemble and an arrangement that delights, without taking itself too seriously - certainly a promising debut single for the project.

"Gone Fishin’ waste no time in transporting you to your bed for a Sunday lie-in"

Via its next few tracks (after having been excused by a warm Rhodesand enough 7 chords to keep any jazz enjoyer content), we meet Maria and her Pink Hydrangeas.

The sound here feels as if Peach Pit and Men I Trust had a child who was really into Bossa Nova. Muddled with a curiously inquisitive tone, Maria washes over you, and spills a glowing elegy to romantic sunrises and hypnotising tides. This track does everything it can without being too much, never overstepping from a soft beautiful groove.

Its little bridge about halfway through strikes me as a highlight, where the bass sings its throaty part, and directs us into the enjoyable sax solo.The colour palette slips elegantly from warm oranges and deep blues to the tasteful lilac of Pink Hydrangeas, without missing a beat (I am very keen of this track transition). A simple track it might be, however this number does anything but disappoint. Its leading brass part ties together the soft vocal whispering with the reverberating dramatics of the penultimate verse - the sort of spark that lets Get Hooked stand out from an average vibey coffee-table jazz set. The track ties up with a loose decomposition of all the elegant parts, which allows the tightness of the next movement to twinkle and shine that much brighter.

Passing Me By marks a shift to a more complex atmosphere - while tight and comfortably in the pocket, this track suggests a reflective persona, less secure in its humanity; it is gorgeous and a pleasure to listen to.‘These days, I’m not quite sure’ seems to accurately convey some of the

most optimistic outlooks of the modern day. Jealous Elegy sings true to the evolution from the bands pre-established placated vibe - the hi-filter vocals stand questioning the state of affairs over the dance-y, curious guitar parts. Short-lived and intriguing, this track passes the baton to perhaps my favourite number.

Look Out is moody and groovy, fantastically produced and creatively written. A new vocalist takes the mic, and comes in swinging - ‘keep looking over your shoulders, keep looking back’. Threatening but

enticing. Particularly the solos pique my interest here, synthy and ominous, they could be violin parts or scratchy synths; colour me a fan.

Pebbles and Throes dance together, a modern duet of comfortable grief- not morose, but resigned; an ode to a satisfied fatigue, an optimistic heartbreak. As a twinkly piano dances under the vocals of the former piece, the bridge paves the way for a chorus of slightly bizarre but undoubtedly fun backing vocals and a laid-back strumming. It adds a flamboyant characteristic, a memorable aspect to the slow, steady and very pretty ballad. Throes feels like an energy-depleted resignation to the human condition. Yet, even through this dishearten, the bright piano carries into this track to hold the attention, and remind us that it goes on. It is gorgeous, for sure.

"(Pink Hydrangeas) It’s leading brass part ties together the soft vocal whispering with the reverberating dramatics of the penultimate verse - the sort of spark that lets Get Hooked stand out from an average vibey coffee-table jazz set"

High Tide is the last song on the nine-track project, bringing the playtime to about 27 minutes. The album-closer holds the same sentiment as the last two; it is a reflective and disillusioned but human piece. The leading vocals move me, and the lyrics are poetic and heavy, but of course not nihilistic. As acoustic guitar flows under raw, honest and supple vocal performances, I am reminded how far this album has taken me in what is only half an hour. It is truly impressive.

What was a niche, gleeful project I was fond of has become an album that speaks not only to me wholly, but to the handsome human tendency- the tendency to keep living, to keep loving, to wear the rose-tinted glasses and own it. The tendency to choose life, to rage against the dying of the light, and most importantly, the tendency to get hooked. And hooked I am.

Max Durno

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Edited by Harriet Bodle

Photos courtesy of Gone Fishin'