Album Review: Jonathan Boulet - We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart

Jonathan Boulet's all encompassing second record, We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart, is an intense pastiche of a million musical ideas – something that most artists would lose control over – all bound together by his signature style of thickly textured, primal percussion pop.

The 23 year old Sydney artist has utilised simple melodic hooks and a mélange of current 'indie buzz' stylings (tribal toms, calypso glock), but instead of creating clichéd indie-pop tunes like other cookie-cutting outfits, he has instead injected every idea with the Boulet-rhythm. You may think, “Percussion overload?” Well, prior to writing this review, my thoughts were exactly that. But Boulet transforms noise into beautiful sounds with his skillful orchestration of junkyard percussion instruments, colourful harmonies and an ever-present thunderous drive, elevating his indie-pop style, as seen in This Song Is Called Raggard and FM AM CB TV, above others.

The record is a step further into the ideas first penned on his self-titled debut. Panpipes are all a-flutter in the refreshingly sweet Dread Is This Place, whilst Keep Away You Feral Son Of A Bitch wins song title of the year. Closer, Cent Voix – French for 'a hundred voices' – formlessly blends layers of harmonised humming and creates a beautiful soundscape of vocals – a whole 8 minutes 33 seconds of it. The album ends with a single, fading hushed voice.

We Keep The Beat… features a solid 12 tracks, with a neverending supply of intriguing and attention-grabbing moments, making it a very easy and quick listen.