Jack O’ the Clock: Leaving California
Richard Gehr on October 18, 2021
England’s folk-rock and Canterbury-prog traditions get a crunchy SoCal makeover on Jack O’ the Clock’s radiant Leaving California (Cuneiform). Songwriting bandleader Damon Waitkus spreads his wistful goodbye (but hello, Brattleboro) across an album that opens with “Jubiliation,” which suggests Yes’ Jon Anderson singing CSN&Y, and concludes with the shimmering 12-minute suite “Narrow Gate.” In between, Waitkus and company, who assembled at Mills College in 2013, navigate knotty chamber rock—a “Reba”-esque paean to butchery and a lot of deftly crafted instrumental fun. Hope we get to hear ‘em way back East someday.
