Glasgow-based, singer-songwriter Jonni Slater has released his new album, “Between The Shadows” – a twelve-track offering, which is a follow-up to the 2023 EP with Dora Lachaise, titled “Weather Balloons”, which received a genuinely positive response.
Onto the album itself, I wondered what Jonni’s inspirations and style choices were ahead of listening, so I could get a feel of what he was about, which he has proclaimed that he loves the style of “lush, atmospheric arrangements that feel like they belong in a film score”, which, consider me intrigued.
Onto the music, and the first of twelve tracks is “Voices” – this is a very gentle song and has a soft piano feel to the backing track and in my opinion, this shows that Jonni does love a soft film soundtrack feel.
Jonni’s vocals are deeper than I anticipated, which is not a criticism, it’s does give a really lovely balance to the track and I think this is something that has been well thought-through, that said, the track does elevate more and more and there are more elements slowly added in, almost becoming a bit rocky in places, but it does have that gorgeous piano tune throughout it, Jonni uses other elements incredibly well, the mastering is excellent.
The second track is “Super” – on first impressions, this track is quite different from “Voices”, with the beginning is very synth like, which was an unexpected surprise – like something you’d hear at the start of a sci-fi hero programme.
The lyrics do reflect this too, like “does anyone need a hero?” – it’s quite experimental and shows a different side to Jonni, as there is quite a good contrast to the first track.
The vocals also feel softer in this track and it does show that Jonni has a good range in him and his style – there is once again a prominent piano track in this and that really does add to it well.
“Forgiven” follows, now this one is quite sombre compared to the other two, there is quite an element of moodiness, but not in the sense of “I hate everyone and everything” but it’s more focused and is channelling an experience or prolonged situation into it, it has a sad tone into it, but the lyrics stand out and are relatable and resonate because of it.
There’s considerably more instrumental in this, but that’s a good thing, kind of makes you reflect more.
The tempo is raised more and there is even a slight jazz element to it further on in the song, but it does a really good job of tying soft subtle genres together.
Up next is “Things We Didn’t Say” and there is no wasting time with this track.
The vocals are quick to the mark and it’s again a sombre track and lets the piano and vocals take the lead, something I think Jonni does really well and has implemented into his key style if you like.
It sounds like he’s singing from the heart, and sometimes does let the backing track do the talking, which is powerful, but I would possibly like to hear more of that to give more impact.
The later track does again get more “busy” with additional voices in but that’s another thing that Jonni does well, he seems to know the right time and place to experiment.
“Believe in The Morning Sun” is next, it gives another quick start, I think this could benefit with a slight pause as it was a bit of a knee-jerk, but once it’s settled it does calm.
Jonni again follows his consistent style and the piano track is truly simple but stunning, there is more drumbeat and maybe even some hint of violin (or strings!) seeping in and out and this does give Jonni the space to show his talent.
This style of mixed genre and effects showcases Jonni at his best on the album so far and it works really well – the vocals are also slightly different, but in a way of feeling. it’s giving a bit more pop with Jonni’s injection of influence and I like that.
Next is “Outside” – we’re now at the halfway point of the album, and I feel like this would be a good point to bring some more experimental tracks in, this does give more of a soft-indie feel, the twangs at the beginning work very well and gives space to be built on.
There is a lot more instrumental break too and I like this, it gives it a nice relaxing feel whilst also playing more with genre and guitar, which is a welcome change.
“Red Canvas” follows, and it does go back to a more sombre feel again and after a more upbeat also soft indie-pop track in “Outside” it is a bit of a harsh comparison, so I’m not sure this is the best place on the track list, however, that’s just my opinion.
It still has a nice backing track, including the staple piano in Jonni’s work, but it took me a little longer to get into this one because of what I felt it being quite a harsh switch up, the backing gospel-like vocals work incredibly well and do push this track up.
I was itching for a little bit more different at this point, and pressing play on “Walked Beside You” gave me some intrigue.
There is a return of jazz-pop-alternative sounds, with a catchy drum-beat and use of funky instruments, and in fairness, I think the comments of the track list can be forgiven if there is more balance, which with this, there is.
There is still the right feel of Jonni’s key style and I think that’s important to highlight, he doesn’t seem to be losing himself, even if he does dip into a number of genre’s.
This song feels more upbeat and generally positive and was placed at a good point, it just has a motivational feel to it, and it gets better as the song goes on, I’d like to hear more of this from Jonni.
We’re onto the home stretch now and “How To Build A Cage For Mice” brings something different, it’s electronic and almost synth-like, it has quite a long intro, which I don’t know if this works or not, but the faded vocals coming in did work and eases you in, I would have just maybe brought them in a bit later.
It does get better as the song goes on, but it’s not my favourite, for me the lyrics don’t really match the backing track, but that said, it could be purely experimental, which is fine too.
“The Wreck” follows and well this had me immediately, it has almost a sea-shanty like intro and this is what was needed to hook me back in – the backing vocals add to it really well.
This could be a style that really suits Jonni well, I was a bit disappointed that this wasn’t continued on more throughout the track, but he did push the elements into other places and this still worked really well, and the song is a bit of an earworm, the gospel like “ohhhhhhh” is incredibly soothing and just brought low-key euphoria, it was a pleasant listen.
The penultimate track is “Heavy” and for the track name, I wasn’t sure what to expect, as Jonni has a very sparaodic range, I was half-hoping for some heavier backing track, but it is a slower piano track again, nothing bad of course, but the heavy is in the lyrics and vocals and that is done really well, but I think this is giving me what I want to hear in future.
That said, it does get more “pop-like” in the second third of the song and it brings in a bit more euphoria again, which is a bit of a contrast to the lyrics, but the rollercoaster in tone for all works really well and does get across the message I picked up which is “life is heavy and it comes in waves” (not a lyric, to be clear, just what I picked up as a listener!).
This is a short and sweet track and I was expecting more lyrics and vocals, so I think this could have been extended more into the end, but generally a good track.
“Last Dance” is infact, the last dance of the album, it does start with this folk-like indie guitar twangs and initially I was excited but it did mellow down very quickly, so it does feel a tad misplaced, as I don’t feel it matches the overall tone of the song.
It’s a chunky song for the last one, the second voice on it however does improve it for me, it does give a good contrast and I think gives the energy I was craving slightly, the track does mix a lot of elements and genre boundaries, and it does feel a little overwhelming at times but the towards the end this does a real soft exit and reminds us of Jonni’s key voice and piano feel.
Overall, this is a good album with a lot going on, for me, I couldn’t listen to it to all in one go, as there are just too many tracks that contrast one-another, I like a solid 8-10 tracks at most, of course genre/style dependent.
But that said, Jonni’s vocals have a good range of tone and he has a lot of different elements he uses to bring his music to life – I would like to hear some more upbeat tracks with more jazz and synth, as I feel like this could be a style that really pushes Jonni further.
The songwriting is good and the mastering is excellent, the album definitely has that TV/Film soundtrack feel to it in parts and I think this a really good taste of Jonni’s musicianship.
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