JACKSLACKS: Earthling Sessions

Jackslacks is Chris Georgio, and he has been around the San Diego roots scene for long enough to have been part of Hot Rod Lincoln, Dead Engines, and a founding member of the Forbidden Pigs. He became the namesake of his band early last decade and their CDs have included Rock & Roll Dinosaur, Lucky Man, and a few EPs, including Farm Jazz and Invisible. He is connected with such rockabilly locals as Eric Hutchinson, Billy Bacon, Johnny Mercury, and Dave Votel as well as others who appear on his recordings–including his latest, Earthling Sessions.

The new disc is a Mike Kamoo-produced project with 11 tracks, all at least co-written by Georgio and featuring his drums, percussion, and double-tracked lead vocals. The rest of the musicians are numerous, and the mix gets a bit crowded in spots, but there is a spontaneous and fun vibe not present in many other recordings.

“The 9207” is a single that opens matters, a rockabilly mishmash overflowing with lyrical tidbits about the lifestyle in Ocean Beach while echoing steel guitar licks, hot key piano pounding, and the guitar break by co-writer Gig Fortier are stellar. “Lucky Man” is one of several that fans of Jackslacks will have heard before on previous releases, an easy-going shuffle with acoustic guitars leading the way, about an old guy who has money, a good girlfriend, and “gets help from above” so he “does not have to kill”; the song is deceptively simple and still makes the listener hang around. “Generations Hypnotized” is a disc highlight that zooms right into the listeners’ brainpan with a catchy message about how our hand-held tech has made most of us sheeple; the arrangement makes the most of a quicksilver guitar solo by Hutchinson, and the multiple backing vocals–in some tracks overburdening the mixes–here give the tune a dose of adrenaline.

Jackslacks are back in the groove with “Best Friend Gone Away,” which is, like “Lucky Man,” a simple melody with lots of clapping to push the groove, and another incendiary Hutchinson break–this time about a special girlfriend, who comes along on a special summer day and by the last verse has gone for good. A big step out of the box comes with “Other Side.” A loping beat accompanies the lead vocal, given a mysterious vibe by violin fills (Georgio’s daughter Taylor), and about shadowy characters with lyrics like “See you on the other side/ You faded on out.” It takes the listener places no other track does.

“Invisible” is probably the most persistent rocker on the disc, driving home its “I’m the invisible man” chorus hard. The most cowpunk track is without a doubt “Come Home With Me,” which bites off Blaster and vintage Beat Farmer moments and rolls it all together almost like a tribute. The closer is a catchy-as-hell riff called “Never Go Back,” which is a sleeper, and would have grabbed attention higher in the playlist; it has a British Invasion vibe best heard elsewhere on “Generations Hypnotized.”

Jackslacks’ Earthling Sessions is sure to win more rockabilly fans.