Jack Name is a Los Angeles indie artist. While he is not a major name indie artist and does not have a large following, he has worked with some big names such as Ariel Pink, Cass McCombs, and U.S. Girls. For his solo work, he has created 3 albums meshing psychedelic rock with lo-fi rock with elements of singer-songwriter. He released Magic Name on the 20th of November last year.
The album begins with “Karolina” where Jack sings in a soft tone as the guitar seems to be the main focus of the track as the riffs put the listener into a calm state of mind. “A Moving-on Blues” is a short minute and a half song about exactly what the title says. Jack is moving on from his previous lover and is feeling the blues. It’s straight to the point as the guitar and his vocals sound somber as he mentions how he is alone and is trying to get over this girl, but he cannot stop thinking about her. “Dudette” continues the theme of depression and heartbreak that was progressing as the album continued. In the song, Jack somberly apologizes to his past-lover that he couldn’t be the person she wanted him to be. The next track “Empty Nights” goes back-and-forth between the past lover and Jack Name which is an interesting concept and allows for his lover to address her feelings towards him. She asks him why he couldn’t have come back from being gone so long which shows there are always two sides to a story.
“Sacred Place” kicks off the second half of the album and is more positive and optimistic than the first 5 tracks. It is my favorite off the album because the melody on the chorus feels more relaxing and upbeat. The layered guitars allow for this beautiful harmonization that really ties the track together. “Do You Know Ida No?” is another duet with the female vocalist we heard earlier on “Empty Nights” and it continues the upbeat feeling of the last track. Jack and the vocalist sound less somber and the characters they portray in the song sound happy to be together. “Having a Good Time” is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a song about a girl having a good time being free and being able to explore things and learn things. “I Came to Tell You in Plain English (I’m Leaving You)” is the most memorable song on the 10-track album. The song starts with this passionate guitar riff that functions as the structural piece of the song playing between the verses and takes up the last minute of the song. This riff adds a heavy emotional factor to the song being about leaving someone and mentions that the person they are leaving never meant much to them, and they “want to look [them] in the eye and count the teardrops that [they] cry”. To close the album, “Losing My Way” is the longest track on the album. Jack questions why he cannot hold onto his lover and why he cannot be the same person he used to be. It’s a sad closer to a somber album about a break-up.
Jack Name uses this album as a more melancholic approach to songwriting compared to his previous hypnagogic pop album and allows him to be more open than previously before.
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