Matinée (Expanded Edition)

iTunes Review

According to 22-year old South London songwriter Jack Penate he wrote and recorded his debut album, Matinee, because he “wanted to create something joyous,” and that’s exactly what comes forth from the first sprightly beats of his UK top ten hit “Torn on the Platform.” While there are tunes about love lost and feelings of displacement (and the album does finish with a tune called “When We Die”), there’s an undeniable spring in Penate’s step that invigorates his songs and has brought comparisons to that other fountain of youth wunderkind Jonathan Richman. His natural guileless pop incorporates ska rhythms that provide a natural energy for the tongue-twisting lyrics that make him sound like a madman on parade (“Made of Codes”). Even when he slows down and turns introspective for the David Grey-like “We Will Be Here,” or the pensive ballad “My Yvonne,” Penate stays away from the usual somber clichés and explores the sweet falsetto of his vocal range.