Jackson Fishauf is an up-and-coming name
you’ll be hearing a lot of in the next few years. His Legitimate LP is out now
and is pretty distinctive. Country-rock is a term used to euphemize lots of
very sub-par Neil Young and Townes Van Zandt rip-offs that have come and gone
over the last 20 years or so, but the term has never been used truer than
describing the slick, rocking Whiskeytown licks and howls heard on this gem.
There’s been a few modern artists with Fishauf’s style that succeed
artistically but never seem to attract the kind of sales that more cliché
country or rock groups might find themselves inhabiting. Artists like David
Dondero, Califone and M. Ward to a lesser extent. This might be a concern later
down the road, but while the genre sometimes exhibits a more exclusive and
eclectic breed of listener, Jackson Fishauf’s sound is so consuming and
enjoyable it’s hard to not imagine anyone picking up his album at the record
shop.
Legitimate LP itself is catchy and concise – every lyric and note seems deliberate and the record is devoid of filler – a rarity these days where most bands have an attitude of 'it has to be 43 minutes, leave it in'. Every track here seems worthy of its place and the album flows, clearly well track listed. The musicianship on the record is at a veteran level and fantastic to listen to, but its Fishauf’s unique vocals that really solidify the album as a hit and assure it to be listened to over and over. There’s a smoky and quaking quality about his voice that is unexplainably soothing and rocking; all at once.
~Johnny Hoel
