Jordan O’Jordan Knows About You.

Jordan O’Jordan: “No Princely Frog” (download)
Jordan O’Jordan: “The Baker’s Tale” (download)
Jordan O’Jordan: “By Balloon Or Sinking Ship” (download)
I know what you’re thinking. The above picture looks a bio picture fit for a neo-psych-folk singer-songwriter like Devendra Banhart or Joanna Newsome. But appearances are often deceiving.
Seattle’s Jordan O’Jordan crafts simple songs of love, struggle and disappointment, using only his voice and a banjo. If the word “banjo” triggers an association to Sufjan Stevens, drop it right now. Jordan O’Jordan is not Sufjan Stevens — and that’s a very, very good thing. Cinematic, sprawling pop would only take away from part of what’s so charming about O’Jordan’s music: his voice. O’Jordan’s voice is his instrument — not in a sense like Mike Patton & Rahzel can make their voices sound like instruments, but in a sense where his voice is unique and impressive, and he knows how to use it well. The music itself doesn’t need to be all that complex, because his voice is capable of providing all the complexities and intrigue.
Don’t get me wrong, though — the music is great. Though one would expect O’Jordan’s sound to be limited by using only the banjo, each of these songs sounds different from the last. “The Baker’s Tale” is a great example of the old-time storytelling approach, and “No Princely Frog” sounds more like what one would expect from a modern singer-songwriter (and I mean that in the best way possible).
“By Balloon Or Sinking Ship” is my favorite of the three songs here, which are all from his record titled Not Style Nor Season Nor Hard-Handed Lesson. It reminds me a bit of the Blow, only because it’s sort of cutesy (again, I mean that is the best way possible). This song sounds so sincere and (at the risk of sounding cheesy) heart-felt that when O’Jordan sings, “I don’t know about love / but maybe you’ll help me decide / I know about you / I know about you,” it sounds like it’s coming from someone who really does know you.
If you want to know more about this man who seems to know so much about everyone else (I know I do), Jordan O’Jordan’s myspace is here, and you can buy Not Style Nor Season Nor Hard-Handed Lesson here.