on 2011-08-11 Michael_Morrison Said:

Flash Jack Eppington is as you would assume a flashy artist from the Boston area. His EP entitled Penny Up was recorded in 2011 at his own studio EPMusic. Eppington also produced & engineered the EP by himself a notable tasking considering he also plays guitar, drums, sings & wrote all the songs. This is indeed a tall order for any artist. The album is a 6 song EP. Website -
http://www.flashjackeppington.com/



If you were hoping for something different or new in the college rock genre then you are out of luck, but what you do get from Eppington is a healthy smattering of indie rock shuffles, passionate vocals, dirty riffs, all traditional & raw. All the songs are effortlessly held down by Eppington himself with the assistance of 2 session players on solo guitar & bass. Eppingtons drumming misses the mark as I detected several timing issues along the way. Eppingtons vocals sit comfortably in the mix - gutsy, melodic and relentless all executed with free form confidence & reckless guile. The mix is pretty foggy & is to say the least far right of the fairway. The production team  mainly Eppington himself could have used more assistance in this area from Industry Professionals. Typically a separate engineer is assigned each production phase I/E Recording. Mixing & Mastering. I might add each phase of the production process must be completed properly in order for the next phase to be accomplished successfully. In other words it doesnt matter how good your Mastering Engineer is if the mixing isnt done properly. Whats more it doesnt matter how youre your Mixing Engineer is if the instruments werent recorded properly.



The album is broken up nicely with 6 original tracks that are highly personal & provide a very real assessment of the artist. The purest moment on the CD is clearly track 3 Ballad of a Gentleman here we see the true genius of Eppington shine through with reckless abandon & sheer vulnerability. I give Eppington a standing ovation on this piece for having the courage to be himself. All in all, this entire CD contains all the exponents of vintage indie rock. It;s a true statement that the best songs were written before pay dirt. This is a real & very fascinating snapshot of an artist who is doing what he does best  being himself. Eppington will no doubt fine-tune the engineering aspects of his sound as time goes by, this is an easy fix. However I hope the core of who he musically will never change because he is like a rare gem that shines with true artistic brilliance.



In close CD reminds me of a nice faded pair of blue jeans  every now & then its an absolute please to slip into & beats a pressed set of khakis any day of the week.



Written by Kevin Huber

Edited by Michael Morrison



7 of10 stars


Rating: 7/10