August 05, 2002

LemonJelly "lemonjelly.ky"

On a long drive with nothing to think about, you need good music to listen to. Lemon Jelly, upon the recommendation of friends, seemed to be a group worth checking out. Sure, I'd heard the hype, heard the free downloads offered at their record label, and I thought to myself, "why not?" I needed something cheery, positive, and intelligent to listen to, and to soothe my mind. Lemonjelly.ky is Lemon Jelly's "debut," in that it compiles three extremely limited, hand-designed 10" EPs from the past few years. (I recall seeing the first EP, The Bath when it was released, and it was, indeed, a gorgeously-designed package. )

Sure, Lemon Jelly's electronica-jazz, but, in my mind, it borders on children's music. I'm not talking about your local, Dallas-based Purple Dinosaur-type children's music, mind you. This is heady, trippy, and totally happy music to think to, to write to, to drive to, and to play blocks to. It's pretty, it's bright, it's day-glo, and it's fun. From the children's story-line and lullaby-melody of "His Majesty King Raam" to the silly, nature-show sampled "A Tune for Jack," and the instructional guitar lesson of "The Staunton Lick," you'd think you'd have stumbled into a saturday morning BBC program.

The only fault to be had with Lemonjelly.ky, though, is the fact that music has a tendency to be quite repetitve, going from interesting to boring in a matter of minutes. Most of these songs range at the 5-7 minute range as well. If you've got kids, or you've got a need for some background music, I couldn't suggest lemonjelly.ky any higher. Tune in, turn on, and let Lemon Jelly serve as the incidental music of your life.

--Joseph Kyle

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