Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
Most indie artists have a bit of a makeover when they start getting attention, to look more presentable. Jack Garratt has had more of a makeunder – and I don’t mean he took off his fake tan after a conversation with Jenny Frost. Look at his latest Radio 1 performance, then back at this old video (which I first saw and enjoyed on a YouTube talent trawl a few years ago) for comparison. Jack has made himself look less presentable, presumably to avoid being confused for a potential pop star, putting on weight, growing a big ginger beard and dressing less smartly. To fit the new look, his previously warm and soulful voice is more gruff and rough, his live set includes unlistenable songs like Remnants and his old smiley on-stage persona is gone. And they say pop artists are fake! His best-known song Worry has a catchy melody, and the studio version brings together his new, more electronic sound with his old, softer, purer vocals. This balance between the old and new Jack Garratt is one I can work with, but if he continues in the direction of his recent performances, it will be a sad waste of what could have been a great new artist.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb_wU-_tNhA]