Having had the pleasure of witnesssing Jacob Reddy and his band perform at Manchester’s After All Festival recently, I was delighted to be asked to review his latest single, “Crazy”, the follow-up to the well-received, “Breaking Me Down”, both of which featured in his set. Already the seasoned professional, Jacob performed at Glastonbury as a solo artist last year, but having the luxury of a permanent band around him now has allowed him to take his music to new and exciting levels.

Describing his sound as, “Gritpop” (and who doesn’t love a new genre?), Jacob and his gang deliver a full-bodied slice of US-tinged soft rock, telling the tale of someone whose life has been turned upside down by the person in their life, to such an extent that they can think of little else. Combining elements of Heart’s “Alone” with a chorus that puts this reviewer a little in mind of Alice Cooper’s, “Poison”, Jacob reddily (aha, see what I did there?) admits, “I keep on running, to the nearest fight, It’s like I’m stuck inside the ring, with no intention to survive.”

No matter what he does, Jacob’s unable to shake off the worry of what’s going on when he’s not around (and we’ve all been there), with the heartfelt, “If I can’t see what’s happening, it makes me sweat under my skin, what you doing now, I have my doubts”.

The production is wonderfully clear, not only can you pick out every lyric, but all the instruments too, in addition to some gorgeous backing vocals and harmonies. The middle eight builds up the tension nicely, and you come to the sad conclusion that this is a tale that isn’t going to end well.

What IS going to go well, however, (at least on the strength of this performance) is Jacob Reddy’s musical career. “Crazy” may well be the tale of a worry that relentlessly eats you away, but Mr Reddy has, in fact, very little to worry about. If you’re a fan of intelligent, accessible rock with an eye across the Atlantic, hunt him down and give him a listen – you’d be Crazy not to.

Pete Rooney