Jason Collett—Rat a Tat Tat
Jason Collett’s forays into the world of ’60s and ’70s mellow rock ’n’ roll continue with his fifth release, Rat a Tat Tat. The album picks up where previous effort Here’s To Being Here left off, while taking his sound to a sonically fuller level. Much of this success can be attributed to The Band to Collett’s Bob Dylan, Zeus—who have, in turn, blown up in the last couple of months.
Sure, there are the classic Collett-sounding songs like “Vanderpool Vanderpool” and “Bitch City,” but the standouts are the fuller songs that show greater evidence of Zeus contributions. “Long May You Love” again echoes the Dylan/Band dynamic, while “Love is a Chain” perfectly incorporates Zeus’s funky, classic rock vibe into Collett’s sound. The bass line from “Love is a Dirty Word” will burrow its way into your head and stay there for days—which, compared to other songs that could be stuck in your head, is not a bad thing.
Collett has managed to take his sound to a new level while keeping the mellowness and subtle nuances of his acclaimed style, and overall, it’s a nice change. Zeus’s influence has made this album solid all the way through. Here’s to hoping they do more work together.—Ryan Kelpin
4/5
