Jelly's Last Jam @ THe Mill

The transition from 2004-2005 took a fair few Preston bands in its wake - The Baker Street Irregulars, Uberdog, The Wooden Soldiers and The Shotgun Faeries all went through changes or bit the dust. Frencheryk bowed out gracefully and now three of them are back as part of the city's newest Motown-jazz band 'Jelly's Last Jam', who played their debut gig at The Mill last Saturday.

Former Shotgun Faeries maestro Richie Lomax kicked off the evening with an acoustic set that revealed what the unpredictable singer/songwriter has been up to since the split of the Shotguns. The answer...writing and perfecting some extremely catchy and intricate songs. Whilst never forgetting the importance of a sing-along chorus and a catchy melody, Lomax appears to be reaching further and further inside, to pull out some sharp, bitter lyrical observations out of the musical hat, as well as the odd cute, magical and melodic bunny to keep the tone above the surface. Lomax should be returning with a band later this year and, based on this performance, is already making some promising noises about his future intentions.

Key-tinkling

Second support act The Superkings started with two old favourites but it was their third, a new offering, that kick-started the set, if only because the singer's voice fluctuates a little more than usual, knocking on the door of a higher octave. Much of the time this is what The Superkings desperately lack. The key-tinkling front man proves, on more than one occasion, that he can raise his game and project his voice and if this can be perfected and utilised more often then his band would have undoubtedly the most powerful, moving sound in Preston, with some beautifully penned songs to go with it.

A Little Hope, Hit The Ground Running and Good To Have You Home are already classics in their own world, but the performance was dogged by a dull yet obvious squeal of feedback from the cello, which still seems to be struggling to fit into the live show.

Despite the silly name, Jelly's Last Jam are a seriously tight band. They have a similar light-hearted, dinner-jazz sound to their fore-fathers Frencheryk but are more in your face, taking a much more forward approach to performing. Former Frencheryk singer Andrew Clarke was obviously going to take some beating, 'The new guy' is Paul Byrne, who concentrates purely on vocals and is a fantastic showman with a voice to match.

Relaxed

Clad in dinner jackets and shirts the quartet sound like every American sitcom sound track rolled into one tidy package and you can't help but draw comparisons with Jamie Cullum but other influences from Basement Jaxx to Semisonic and probably a load of artists that nobody except the band themselves has ever heard of.

Drummer Andy Lyth takes a much more relaxed approach to playing and looks more at home behind his kit than ever before, almost dancing along to every song and adding to a united band experience.

The set closer is louder and more lively than anything previous, providing two minutes of 'power-jazz punk', if there is such a thing, and leaving a large audience thinking that Jelly's Last Jam may just have a great deal to offer the city's music scene.

Written by Dan Jeoffroy

Photography: Dan Jeoffroy