He may have grown up spending summer holidays in his mother’s native Tipperary, but judging by Jonathan Jeremiah’s music, it sounds like he was more influenced by the dusty recesses of his parents’ vinyl collection than any family get-togethers or trad sessions down the local pub.
Like Michael Kiwanuka, the Londoner has shaped and moulded his soul-inflected style into something resembling the output of a forgotten 1970s star, largely thanks to the hiss and crackle of his recordings and his undeniably gorgeous swarthy, textured croon. That organic feel remains prominent on his fourth record, from the finger-clicking title track to the mellow Shimmerlove.
The '70s aspect is further enhanced by the Bacharach-esque string arrangements (courtesy of The Heritage Orchestra's Jules Buckley) on shimmering love song U-Bahn (It's Not Too Late for Us) and the evocative Long Night, while the seven-minute-long Deadweight – allegedly inspired by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood's Some Velvet Morning – has subtle shades of a thrilling spy soundtrack in places.
With momentum slowly draining from the tracklist as it progresses, it’s clear that Jeremiah undoubtedly does one thing very well indeed – but is it enough?
