SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: NOVELTY ISLAND – JIGSAW CAUSEWAY

NOVELTY ISLAND
JIGSAW CAUSEWAY
9×9 RECORDS

Novelty Island is the brainchild of Liverpool artist Tom McConnell. Jigsaw Causeway is the third album from Novelty Island. This is an album that is rooted in pop-rock history while still pushing the envelope somewhat with the music and sound of the overall music. His arrangement and use of instruments throughout the two sides create a sense of whimsy musically. It is very much a pleasant album full of surprises and twists and turns.

Even the songs take left turns when you expect a nice slow right curve. “Northern Nowhere” starts off as a very standard pop song, but by the end the synth solo takes it somewhere else. Not in a bad direction, just unexpected. And this is done several times in several songs. McConnell does not do the expected and he is more than happy to insert sounds and music throughout. Sometimes he does wear his influences on his sleeves, with a song like “Apollo” which at times brings to mind Fiction Factory’s “(Feels Like) Heaven.” Again, this seems to come out of nowhere and yet it seems to fit comfortably on the album.

There are some less poppy songs on the album, such as the rather sad “I’m Glad It’s Not Sunny.” The slow, almost acoustic song is quite beautiful in its melancholy. It does build and is not a dirge, but it is more restrained than other tracks and a bit more sparse. “Floating” is also quite sparse in its sound, and the backing track of a program and the treated vocals does give it the vibe of a message from another planet. “The Only Train Driver In England” is more of a blues number that works quite well.

As well as being a new album Jigsaw Causeway is serving as the soundtrack to a piece of art. Taking the title literally, McConnell has created a new gallery exhibition, featuring surreal papier-mâché props and handmade detritus. The centrepiece artwork, however, is a painstakingly  hand-painted jigsaw sleeve of 50,000 pieces. When assembled, it forms a spectral reimagining of Germany’s Hindenburgdamm causeway.

Jigsaw Causeway is an ambitious project. Once again McConnell has come up with an original album full of psychedelic and haunting images. He is taking a page out of The Beatles and their world and placing it in a 2025 arena. It works on many levels, and the end result is a fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable album.

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