Richie Egan has been an ever-present on the Irish music scene for many years now. Whether it’s with Redneck Manifesto, Jape – who we have here – or an inestimable amount of other acts he has played with, it is hard to see how he has had a moment to rest in the last decade or so. That is all set to change in the near future though, as Richie, like so many other of our talented young people, is leaving these fair shores.
But he has left us a gift, in the form of Jape’s fourth album Ocean of Frequency, before his departure. With it coming as the follow up to Choice Music Prize-winning Ritual, it would be easy of Jape to make an album that would follow down the same lines. A Ritual II, as it were. They didn’t however, and it is a testament to their creativity just how different it is.
On first listen it may seem like a disappointment. Gone are the standout tracks like ‘I Was a Man’ and ‘Christopher & Anthony’ and in their place come more sombre understated tracks. On repeated listens though, the album reveals itself to be reverential and beautiful.
Out are the up-tempo, party songs with light-hearted, witty lyrics. In their places are more down-beat tunes with lyrics that seem thoughtful and sincere. The electronic influences are the same as before and the band shows great musicality in taking so many inventive and disparate sounds and moulding them together to make such coherent and layered music. They talk a lot in film circles about sequels being darker than the originals. It is certainly the case with this as a sequel to Ritual.
‘Please Don’t Turn the Record Off’ (the album’s standout track) points to the reasons for the change in attitude. “Please don’t turn the record off, I’ve got nothing to go home to” sings Egan. “You’ve imagined yourself leaving, but you don’t have the balls… to do it.”
Maybe it’s about the end of night when the lights come up and we’re all ushered away. It seems however that he knows his time is up and he must step off the rollercoaster that is the Irish music scene. A sad thought for any Irish music fan, but perhaps you can see where he’s coming from. Alternatively, he could just be pleading with you to listen to the remaining 10 tracks on the album!
‘The Oldest Mind’ points to a similar feeling. He can’t commit to his passion the way he was once able to and is offering the advice of “Celebrate what it means to be young” to those able for what he is no longer. ‘On Borrowed Time with Peace’ tracks similar ground. Even on lead single ‘Scorpio’, one of the more uplifting songs on the album, Egan sings “I’m in between where I once was and where I need to be.”
All of this could leave the album as thoroughly depressing fare. It doesn’t though. It is certainly more effective as an album for ‘coming down’ than reaching a high, but it’s nostalgia and not any form of depression that is the overriding emotion of the piece. As LCD Soundsystem has shown us before, emotion and electronic music can sit very well together. Ocean of Frequency is another excellent example of that.