Carnivore by Jameson (EP)

Jameson, the world’s first soft-country star

On his ‘Carnivore’ EP the Californian songwriter Jameson manages to bring together banjo-heavy folk and Kenny Loggins-esque 80s soft rock

anjo-driven folk and 80s soft rock wouldn’t appear to be the most comfortable of bedfellows at first glance. Clearly, though, Californian songwriter Jameson has a different vision from most, because Carnivore is his statement of just how strong their attraction for each other is.

Breathe Your Last starts things off in a distinctly folk flavour, with humming banjo lines that could have been ripped – along with the straw from their mouths – from a Mumford & Sons recording session. Those feeling accustomed to this approach will be knocked from their porches by the time the aptly named Surprise, which has Bryan Adams written all over it, kicks in. Falling then goes straight back into the folk territory, with Everything Is Changed changing nothing. Remember then bookends the EP expertly, with riffs that Kenny Loggins would kill to have written, – literally if his cameo in TV show Archer is to be believed!

The mixing of folk and soft rock is as surprising at the EP’s close as it was at the beginning. What’s most surprising, though, is just how well it works, with Carnivore an unexpected treat. Like most mavericks, Jameson will reduce many to an initial state of head-scratching befuddlement, before leaving them wondering just how he pulled off the inconceivable. Long live soft-folk.

Verdict: Kenny Loggins with a banjo, but sadly not the beard

Damien Girling

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