Original The Jam bassist Bruce Foxton releases his new album Smash The Clock, co-written with From The Jam band mate Russell Hastings. With Smash The Clock, Foxton and Hastings have captured From The Jam’s inimitable live energy on record. Driving bass riffs sit beneath layers of inventive guitar parts, piano, brass, and each chorus feels like it is tailor-made for a crowded venue to sing their hearts out to. Foxton says the meaning of title track ‘Smash The Clock’ is simply that “good music is ageless and timeless”...

I generally have several albums for review at any one time. When they come in I upload them to an iTunes account and put the press releases in date order. So, when it comes time to listen to another set of albums, I take the top half a dozen press releases and transfer those albums to iPod. The first time I listen to the albums I don't look at the press release or track titles (although I may make some notes on individual tracks). It's only after I've listened to them through once that I check the press notes - this way I don't approach the material with any other thoughts or expectations.

Why am I mentioning this? Well, for Bruce Foxton's Smash the Clock, my notes simply state: "This has a sound of Paul Weller about it. Track 4 also sounds like a Phil Collins song."

So, it wasn't overly surprising to discover that this album is from the original The Jam bassist, and that it actually featured guest appearances from Paul Weller, Wilko Johnson and Paul Jones.

The album contains 13 songs (38 min) and what's interesting is that while this is all in a similar vein, the tracks are poles apart giving listeners an interesting mix of styles. For old skool The Jam fans there are several tracks that will put a smile on you face.

Like Foxton’s Back In The Room (2012), Smash the Clock was crowd-funded, with a campaign in which fans could purchase items such as handwritten lyrics, signed CDs, LPs, artwork, etc.

Thank goodness for crowd-funding (I never thought I'd hear myself say that). An enjoyable and diverse album.

8

Nick Smithson