At the end of last year the wonderfully talented Jode Gannon revealed he’d signed to London’s The Animal Farm and would be recording a brand new EP under their management. After the raw and acoustic beauty of 3 Hours, the promise of a fuller set and sound was intriguing, to say the least. His new project comes in the form of a three track EP entitled Care Factor Zero, and it’s a fairly big step away from the original collection we reviewed – musically speaking. The songwriting, however, and the essence of what his music presents, is every bit as emotional and honest as ever.
This time around the music has a big and bluesy backdrop to it, at times crossing over into a full-throttle, indie-rock sound, all of which fills the room with warmth and energy. The three songs chosen for the project each have something gutsy and striking about them – it’s an impressive little collection, and it leaves plenty of room for excitement and anticipation of further creative strides from the songwriter as 2017 moves forward.
The melodies throughout the project are infectious. The hook section of Little Honey is powerful, soulful, melodically addictive and really showcases both the finer elements and the utter strength of Jode’s leading vocal performance. The driving force alongside of the writing is this voice, and nothing has been taken away during the recording process. The sound is bigger, but still very real – the fuller instrumental arrangement actually supports and compliments the power of the vocal and the feeling behind the lyrics superbly. It sounds incredible. Little Honey earns the right to be heard by as big an audience as possible; the sound is uplifting, stylish, loaded with good vibes and instantly memorable after a single listen.
Within the new EP you also get Don’t Blame Me, a softer sound at first, really drawing focus to the emotional gravel and tone of Jode’s voice. Things build up accordingly as the music progresses, and all in all the epic energy of this pop-rock and folk fusion is impossible to ignore. The Way It Goes is also included in the collection, and the three tracks together give off the feeling of this being a much bigger project. The sound is huge, the structure of each of the songs has been thoughtfully and skilfully executed so as to genuinely keep things interesting and captivating at each and every moment. It’s a superb collection; far too short, but something tells me there’s plenty more where this came from.
The EP Care Factor Zero comes out on the 25th of this month (February). Find and follow Jode Gannon on Facebook & Instagram.
https://soundcloud.com/jodegannon/little-honey-1
