16 Nov 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Jason McIver Collective - Album Review: I May No Perf

15 Mar 2016 // A review by Peter-James Dries

I May No Perf may seem like a strange name for The Jason McIver Collective’s debut album, if you haven’t seen the cover or have never heard a drunken uncle at a Christmas BBQ scoff “I may not be perfect, but parts of me are excellent.”  

I remember that saying from a bumper sticker in ’92, but it’s been around longer than that and will continue for years to come, in the form of t-shirts and humorous $2 Shop birthday cards.

If I May No(t be) Perf(ect) was intended as some kind of statement about the music, the JMC would have been better sticking to the “parts of (me are) excel(lent)” bit, because this album is damn near perfect, and parts of it are definitely excellent.

With any collective project, there comes a diverse range of influences and a mish-mosh of styles. For the most part, I May No Perf stays true to the singer/songwriter core, from which the song originates, with the other members of the collective building a sonic nest around the egg.

And then there are the unexpected outlying tracks, like Push and Pull which starts with the familiar Kiwi-dub styling and ends sounding more like a track from Heathen Eyes, McIver’s previous musical outing.

You need to hear this album. Not quite acoustic, and not always rock, there are splatterings of Six60, Alice in Chains, Incubus and that inescapable Deftones sound I can’t help but hear in McIver’s work. A surprisingly bright and optimistic record for something born from a nervous breakdown.

Stars are subjective, but let’s give this a 3/3. It’s a polished record by a group of talented musicians and as an added bonus, I didn’t need to skip past any tracks on repeat listens.

I May No Perf is release April 1st via Southern Collective Music and will be available on iTunes (digitally) or from the Jason McIver Collective website (physically).

 

About Jason McIver Collective

The Jason McIver Collective have released two highly praised and charting albums since 2015 and in 2019 that catalogue will continue to expand.

After moving bases from Auckland to Taupo Jason refreshed the line-up, featuring original bassist Si Folkard moving to lead guitar/vocals, bassist John Curtis and drummer Andrew Marshall.

The music explores the many emotions and movements occurring in life and celebrates a diverse scope of song writing.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Jason McIver Collective

Releases

I May No Perf
Year: 2016
Type: Album
The Big Blue
Year: 2014
Type: EP

Other Reviews By Peter-James Dries

Ra Charmian - Album Review: Waiata Wairua
08 Oct 2024 // by Peter-James Dries
Waiata Wairua is an album that wouldn’t feel out of place performed in a late night jazz hall in some alternate history where the successes of the Maori battalion lead to a proliferation of Te Reo worldwide. The sort of interest that saw your dad singing in French in the 60's, when Mireille Mathieu was knocking about.
Read More...
Ben Lloyd - Album Review: Leap of Faith
26 May 2024 // by Peter-James Dries
For over 30 years, this self-taught rocker from Mt Maunganui has been writing music. Now, for the first time since 2013, we finally get to hear his songs.
Read More...
Yann Le Dorré - Album Review: The Circus is Closed
19 Dec 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
“We are Sex Bob-Omb and we're here to make you think about death and get sad and stuff!” - Scott Pilgrim vs.
Read More...
Sanoi - Album Review: Echoes Of Home
25 Nov 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
Electronica offers no escapism for me. It’s more of what I already have.
Read More...
Throng - EP Review: Decoherence
20 Oct 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
You know that thing where the letter B has a personality, or words have textures and colours? That’s called synaesthesia.
Read More...
Fortress Europe - Album Review: Old World
10 Oct 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
Have you ever been torn between listening to Mozart or Periphery? Does Epica have too much of that darn singing for your tastes?
Read More...
Yurt Party - Album Review: Yurt Party
07 Sep 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
It sure isn't summer, and this is really not the Balkans, but Yurt Party’s new self-titled album refutes that. Back with another one of them Balkan rocking beats, Yurt Party’s debut is jazzy, erratic, and full of zest and energetic grooves, with flavour notes of ska, dub, and bergamot.
Read More...
day13n - Album Review: /7/13/7/
06 Aug 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
I’m too old for this world. We’ve devolved to the point where music is only as good as the soundtrack to your 10 second TikTok, and the thirty thousand copies recycling the idea.
Read More...
View All Articles By Peter-James Dries

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • APT.
    ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
  • DIE WITH A SMILE
    Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
  • BIRDS OF A FEATHER
    Billie Eilish
  • TASTE
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
    Gracie Abrams
  • ESPRESSO
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • SAILOR SONG
    Gigi Perez
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
    Shaboozey
  • GOOD LUCK, BABE!
    Chappell Roan
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem