Album Review: Juan Zelada – High Ceilings And Collarbones
High Ceilings And Collarbones
Released February 6th 2012
Do you remember a certain Mr Jamie Cullum? Well it’s about time you meet his possible successor; Juan Zelada. There is of course some marked differences between the two, but the over all feel and tone of sound remains very similar, plus both men have a certain charm, a cheeky smile, a je ne sais quoi. Whilst Jamie Cullum pedalled more of a Jazz feel, Juan manages to conjure up a much bigger mix, featuring Jazz, Blues, Folk and Pop. What happens on this album with all of those elements is nothing short of genius. I say this quite sincerely because it’s quite a difficult task to mix elements like these and still keep the album sounding honest and serious. High Celinings And Collarbones doesn’t appear to be an album that is trying to be a one size fits all by squeezing in a load of currently fashionable elements into one.
It isn’t just the interesting melting pot of influences that make this album feel so rich but it’s also the strength of song writing, the story telling, the warmth of sounds from instrumentation and vocal. One of my favourite tracks on the album that totally fulfil all of those statements is Elsewhere. I like the disjointed guitar and punctuated vocal. The high notes certainly do the track some favours too, I don’t know why I love this in male singers but I love a good range, and I’m not talking cookers!
There is something about this album and indeed Juan Zelada himself that makes me think he’s going to be really popular with the yummy mummies. Not being one of those myself it’s difficult to say why exactly I think this, and it’s not meant as a bad thing. I just think he has a certain class about him that he’d be just right for dinner parties, even maybe as a guest, but also his musical style is very rich but not too attention seeking. Perhaps it’s the impression I get because I know he’s already been playlisted on Radio 2, not radio 1 – an altogether very different set of listeners on the whole.
High Ceilings And Collarbones I am sure will see Juan Zelada joining the ranks of the likes of Katie Melua, the aforementioned Jamie Culum and others of that very talented very sophisticated ilk. It isn’t a fashionable album, not one that is here today, gone tomorrow. It’s not made to be arty, to be scrutinised as a high class piece of music. It still has an element of fun, and that can be found weaved into the musical tapestry. The stories are told in a lively and entertaining way.
Barman is a track that will hit home with many men, after all this album isn’t just for those Yummy Mummies. It has enough bravado and masculinity to make it a great album for everyone. It is far from a wet and soppy album full of love songs. Perhaps Mr Zalada could even go a Bublé and be a huge hit with everyone. Maybe that will depend on just how cheeky he can be, because the songs are certainly heading toward being on par, for the perfect example listen to the wonderful I Can’t Love.
iTunes certainly have already pitched this guy as someone to look out for . They have made his current single, and lead track on the album, The Blues Remian, their single of the week – this means you can download it for free. This will no doubt do his career no harm at all and will hopefully bring this album out to the widest possible audience because it deserves to be, it’s a perfect pop album, a perfect blues album, a perfect jazz album and a perfect folk album all rolled into one. Clever little bugger that Juan Zelada, he even self produced it to boot, with a little help from his friend Matt Lawence and Rick Chambers.
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