The Jode Gannon Band – Sunken Ships
By Libby Driscoll
Based in London, The Jode Gannon Band release their latest pop single Sunken Ships.
The Jode Gannon Band – Sunken Ships
Demonstrating a similar popular style to that of Coldplay and Snow Patrol, Sunken Ships ticks all the boxes of a general noughties pop ballad. Humble twinkly piano chords introduce the music, with concentrated vocals and limited instrumentation, all following in the typical build up you’d expect to hear from the certain genre. The lyrics too adhere to the gushier theme of the music, as we hear the vocalist proclaim, “I don’t want someone who runs away. Once a loving girl but now a stray”, as they reminisce on matters of love and lost.
The overly simplistic lyrics do feel suitable, but slightly predictable regarding its style, losing a level of charge a piano ballad really needs in order to sound a little more significant. Around the half-way mark, Sunken Ships reaches its compositional climax. The piano chords strike slightly harder with a dramatic emphasis on the vocals, leading the way for a more substantial rhythm section and all-round busier instrumentation. Though the song certainly needed a boost, the music doesn’t develop much further during the rest of the build-up, formulating almost a clean split of sections within the track.
After listening to the second half for a while, the novelty of the build-up somewhat wears thin. The vocals certainly demonstrate a more authoritative approach; however, I can’t help but crave some fuller, dramatic harmonies underneath the lead to really push them to the forefront of the music.
Sunken Ships is without a doubt your clean, standard pop ballad. There’s a high level of familiarity about it, but definitely allows you to fall into a passive listener. The music ability is absolutely apparent in their musical performance, however a definitive style from The Jode Gannon Band is yet to be unleashed.