April 2007
’It’s spring’ is a beautifully steeped soured romance of sorts - acoustically drawn, spectral and haunting as though Bruce Springsteen's. ’the ghost of tom joad’ had been magically invested with the numbingly mercurial mindset of June Panic. .. ’Tomorrow we triumph’ comes across like a lost 60’s folk troubadour and discovers Swoop Swoop finding the dusty bottle containing the mercurial essence of Donovan’s wayward but beguiling song craft only to ever so gently unscrew the cork to release the genii within. ... Quite perfect if you ask me. Losing Today.com(UK)
February 2007 Swoop Swoop (aka Streaky Jake) sounds like he fell down a deep old well, and couldn't get out. At the bottom, he had a lot of time to think about life and people and how irrational they can be. He cried out for help, over and over, but noone heard him. So he just started singing.
While others have compared him to The Soldad Brothers, Devendra Banhart and Mazzy Star, his weightless sound reminded me of fellow well-dwelling contemporaries, Zach Rogue and Damien Jurado. Incorporating a gritty lo-fi 60s sound, his songs would have also slotted in nicely somewhere on The Forest Gump Soundtrack, maybe for that classic shot of Jenny out the bus window...
With releases already in the States and UK (as Streaky Jake), and judging by his My World Vistor Map on myspace, it would seem this sneaky little surfing sandwich from Perth has snuck under all our noses.
Sandwich Club.FM
December 2006
Streaky Jake
What’s Wrong? Nothing
(Metal Postcard)
If you like the concept of the modern singer-songwriters but are finding them all too clean and polished to be believable, then Streaky Jake may be right up your street. The entire record seems to be covered in a layer of murky grime that slightly mutes and muffles the tracks but doesn't hide the finger-picking styles or the grizzled vocal delivery. 'Jake You Fool' swings like an early blues track, with the vocals reminiscent of The Soledad Brothers, whereas other tracks will be lapped up by fans of Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. The quiet tone of the record does represent a small barrier to the listener but certainly not an insurmountable one and this lo-fi offering has a few tricks up its sleeve to warrant repeated plays. The harmonica interplay on 'I've Done This Before' is quite charming and should put a smile on anyone's face. [AR] Is This Music Magazine
The debut album from Streaky Jake aka Australian singer-songwriter Sean Gorman, is a self-recorded set of ultra-low-fi folk tunes.
Loosely based around the journey through a relationship, the record’s basic production lends a gritty charm to the delicate finger-picking, occasional mouth-organ and simplistic percussion, while Gorman’s evocative voice draws humour, insight and pathos in spades from his quiet meditations on love, sin, death and regret. Close in both sound and spirit to Devendra Banhart, but minus the bouts of unnecessary wackiness, this is a worthy addition to the listenable (i.e. non-Blunt) end of the acoustic troubadour market. 4/5
DOWNLOAD: 'I've Done This Before & I'll Do It Again'
FOR FANS OF: Badly Drawn Boy, Devendra Banhart
Alternative Ulster.com
New action on brooklyn's metal postcard comes in the form of the young western australian streaky jake. this record is the epitome of everything lofi, with the muffled vocals, next to no production values, minimal effects lies a charm, somewhere between mazzy star and badly drawn boy, that is seducing everyone who listens to it, not to mention the hundreds of people clamouring to be his mate on that myspace thing.
Rough Trade Records / London
An engrossing, lovely, naive, and one of the best headphone albums of recent times. If Cody Chestnutt hadn’t already coined it, it would be the headphone masterpiece.
Cyclic Defrost (Australia)
have you been to www. ozradio. com. au lately? It's all new and with more features than ever before. Swing past OZRadio. com. au and check out exclusive tracks from your favourite local Aussie Musicians. Featuring some of the best established and up and coming acts this side of the globe. We allow all Australian Artists of any genre to sign up and create an online music account to present their music, music videos, photos, post gig information, sell their CDs, and much more and it's all for free for Australian Music Artists! Our goal is to help give the Australian Music Scene a chance to spread their talent to anyone in Australia who really loves local music.
