Jack Garratt

One Liner: "Next Big Thing" sounds like last year's soul electro

Poster Position: 11

Thoughts:  I first heard of this dude because of a post I did about articles that had worked out how to predict the next big thing in music for 2016.  This was the guy who was repeatedly predicted to be the Next Big Thing.  Which, of course, makes me a skeptic about him actually being worth a crap.  And then later on in the year, his album came out and I listened to it a bunch to work out how amazing it must be.  Not so much for me.  It isn't bad, but except for a song or two, I don't get a lot out of it.

He's only got the one album, 2016's Phase, which is all electro synth and his very nice voice over the top.  I have to admit, the other day I was listening to KUTX and a song came on that I really was feeling.  Sounded familiar, and when it kicked in I whipped out my phone to Shazam it because I was about ready to jump out of my car and fly up into the clouds. When I realized it was Garratt I was kind of surprised, but the song really does have a great sound. Here is "Surprise Yourself,"

Well shit.  Now I've teared up and giggled at the same time while at my office desk, and I'm sure my assistant thinks I'm a psychopath.  That video is great, matches the song so well, and a cool set of imagery.  Go watch it for real.  Although I'm a little confused why that one girl didn't like pinwheels? This seems like a made up fear so that she could appear in a music video.
"Hey, Denise, do you have any fears that would be really pretty on screen?"
"Uh, yeah, like I totally hate hanging out onstage with Taylor Swift in her hashtag squad!"
"Well, that sounds expensive, but we have some old pinwheels and a fan.  Can you be scared of that?"
"Sure, the Pinwheel (PINWHEEL, SPINNING AROUND!) song is kinda weird.  Let's do it!"

Anyway, that is a good song, with fine (if not a little platitude-y) lyrics ("Speak and open up your mind, It's something you should do all the time, Keep exploring, seek and find, You know you might surprise yourself") and a cool sounding beat and build.

For a guy who was touted as the Next Big Thing, he really doesn't have much buzz in the streams department.  When I reviewed him in mid-April, "Worry" had about 23 million streams, and now two months later it is at 29.5 million.  He has two other tunes that break ten million streams ("Weathered," which reminds me of that "Once I was Seven Years Old" song and "The Love You're Given").  Other than "Surprise Yourself," I think my favorite track on the album is "Breathe Life," which has 8.9 million streams.

It starts pretty chilly, then a little beat kicks, but then the big beat hits and it is pretty fun. Makes me think again of Disclosure with Sam Smith.  I don't know, I like some of this stuff, but if you listen to the entire album, the similarity of it all smears together and you lose track. At 19 songs and an hour and 20 minutes, it just feels a bit long and same.  But, that being said, I might just go find him at the festival so I can hear "Surprise Yourself" and quietly leak tears about my fear of things that bite from under the water's surface.