JimTheObscure - Piranhas In Pyjamas

​JimTheObscure

Piranhas In Pyjamas
self-released; 2017

3.5 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

JimTheObscure is a solo artist from Australia who recently released Piranhas In Pyjamas. Like many others he is equipped with a fairly common concoction of DIY type tools that he used to make his album. Piranhas In Pyjamas has that DIY type sound that comes with consumer gear and garageband. His music can be ethereal, quirky pop and slightly experimental. 

He opens with “Took My Eyes off The Ball” which revolves around guitar, distant sounding percussion, synths and his vocals. The vocals have a little too much reverb for my liking. That being said the song has its charm. I especially enjoyed some of the instrumental sections. He makes sure to rhyme the first couple of lines in the song. He sings, “When I took my eyes off the ball It went bouncing down the hall Shoulda made that telephone call Shoulda met her in the shopping mall.”

“Actor/Spectator” is a bit quirky sounding. It reminded me of Ariel Pink at its best. Airy synths float around and collide with reverb-laced vocal harmonies. Up next is “The King Of Conscience” which is a ambient track with no vocals. It worked in the context of the other songs. 

He gets back into slightly experimental territory with “Big Time Co-Conspirator” while “Gerard Depardieu” almost has a Beatles-esque quality to it if they experimented with synths. At this point you should have a general idea of the album. As the album progresses the songs have a similar flavor to them. Some of the highlights were “Nothing To Prove,” the sparse “Fist of God,” the somewhat catchy “Midnight Facts” and the closer “Weird Stones.”

Piranhas In Pyjamas has some hit and misses. I thought the album didn't need to have fourteen songs. In terms of sheer length this album is quite epic and takes some effort to get through all the songs from beginning to end. One thing he did do well which is often missed by DIY artists is cohesion. The songs all felt connected by a similar thread.

​One thing I would mention to him is to consider laying off the reverb in the vocals if he wants to have people hear the words easier and have them be the focal point on the music. In some cases it’s beneficial to have either elements of the song with reverb or the vocals but not both dripping with it.

Overall, the album still delivers a solid batch of songs.

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