Vinyl Of The Month

Artist: Gentleman Jesse and His Men

Title: Introducing Gentleman Jesse

Format: LP

Label: Douchemaster

Manufacturer: Pirates Press in San Francisco (outsourced to a manufacturer in the Czech Republic)

After a trickle of 7-inches and splits, Gentleman Jesse and His Men have released a terminally listenable full-length power-pop treatise. The vinyl LP gives the genre a refined and elemental treatment. The band doesn’t indulge in much noise or dressing up. It’s not a glossy record but there aren’t any additives either.

The best that can be said of this album is that it captures the gleeful way the band kills live. The worst is that none of the songs are as ridiculously catchy as the single “Don’t Wanna Know (Where You Been Tonight),” as many of these songs are cast in its giddy/sour mold. And plenty of them are bittersweet enough to soothe those souls still aching with the knowledge that there will never be another Exploding Hearts album. “You Don’t Have To (If You Don’t Want To)” and “All I Need Tonight (Is You)” will help you make it through another year.

The fun is evenly distributed over both sides. In fact, the final track, “Put Your Hands Together,” is one of the best of the 13. “I Get So Excited,” also on side two, is a cover of a song released by The Equals in 1968. It fits in so well you wouldn’t know without reading the sleeve that it wasn’t an original.

There are no liner notes. The album is an unusually attractive Douchemaster artifact but, like the songs themselves, there’s nothing superfluous about the package — just a track listing, essential recording information and clearly captioned photo portraits of the musicians by Laura Hull. On the front is a shot of Gentleman Jesse confronting the listener with a Super 8 camera. And that’s all you’re getting. Turn it over and play it again.

www.myspace.com/gentlemanjesse

-Beverly Bryan