Review
dennis davison
"invisibilia" single
(Pretty Plague)
We feared we'd lost a great one when L.A.'s veteran The Jigsaw Seen called it quits in 2017. Yet all on his own, lead singer Davison has kept their splendid modernized '60s flavors coming. Whether his The Book of Strongman or Creaturefeature EP or his unexpectedly terrific Voice Memorandum (iPhone Voice Memos app!) demos LP, this ex-Seen is still so well heard. Sure 'nuff, a new single proves another youngie but goodie.
He jiggers up a lightly funky, danceable shaker rhythm, then shoves a heavier-dirtier guitar-driven pop gem on it, full of his melodic magic. The twisty lead guitar strutting throughout has some of the stomp and stamp of Brit Bolan-to-Bowie glam-"Children of the Revolution" to"Cracked Actor,' say with the tough-stuff brawn of "Powerman" Kinks and” Subway Train" New York Dolls. To reference Graham Nash-era Hollies, he's King Midas with no curse; everything he touches turns to gold.
Jack Rabid- Editor, The Big Takeover
“The wind warns like a cold memorandum”
New album
Voice Memorandum
Voice Memorandum is a ten song collection of my voice and acoustic guitar demos that I’ve recorded over the years on my iPhone's Voice Memos application. In most cases these are recordings of the first time that I attempted to sing the songs out loud, usually right after they’d been written. I never intended any of these for release as they are very rough around the edges. I came to appreciate the compressed lo-fi quality of the the application however and I do think that these one-track, live-to-phone performances are a worthy way of documenting the birth of a song. Sometimes I bothered tuning the guitar and other times I just went with "close enough." You can even hear my dog breathing during quiet sections on a few of the songs!
Oh yeah, did I mention that it’s a free download?
“In the twinkling star night you were there”
New 5 song EP
Creaturefeature
Creaturefeature showcases the newest sounds from Dennis's mind! Joined by Teddy Freese and Andy Bartel of The Jigsaw Seen, Paul Rieger and Bob Tiefenwerth of United States Of Existence and Chuck Mancillas of Drool Brothers.
"It's been good relief that the cessation of LA's consistently great The Jigsaw Seen (1988-2017) hasn't deprived us of their lead singer-or, as this EP reminds, the charming yet grabbing '60's- esque rock/pop he/they made so well. Finally following up his 2020 debut, The Book Of Strongman (my #20 pick #87) apart from some singles, these 5 songs are an even better recorded/written distillation of his BeeGees/Syd Barrett/Brian Wilson melodic jones abetted by a similar appealing whimsey-not unlike the exalted apices of the post The Big Express XTC/Dukes Of Stratosphear. While the piano-enhanced "Creatures Of Love" is an obvious hit from another, better world, it's the more prickly, fab guitar rock/psych-ish stand-out "The Greatest Moment In History" (kudos) and the baroque Kinks-ian magnetism of "The Monuments" (extra points for topicality too) that replicates Davison's enduring claim as one of the most underrated singer/tunesmiths in this hear land-and a home recording solo engine that could!"
Jack Rabid-The Big Takeover