11 tracks · 42 min
Riding on the coattails of the mockney pop wave that briefly dominated the charts in 2007, MC/vocalist Jack Allsopp, aka Just Jack, scored an unexpected number two hit with his the Streets-go-disco satire of talent shows, "Starz in Their Eyes." Like fellow scenesters Lily Allen and Jack Peñate, Allsopp appears to have spent the subsequent two years reinventing his signature sound, presumably in an attempt to distance himself from the passing fad that launched his career. And while All Night Cinema might not be as chart-friendly as Allen's It's Not Me, It's You or as radical a departure as Peñate's Afro-Cuban house fusion, Everything Is New (his trademark laid-back laconic delivery and everyday-life lyrics are still here in abundance), his third album, All Night Cinema, is still a much more inventive affair than his previous stoner hip-hop-heavy Overtones. Indeed, lead single "Embers" is one of the most intriguing singles of the year, a gorgeously epic production that opens with basic handclap rhythms, a nagging guitar hook, and plucked strings and slowly builds up to a stunning crescendo of swirling symphonies and multi-layered vocals. It's already been used as the soundtrack to a …
