Bad Penny is the debut album of twenty-one year-old Louis Jones, AKA Spectrals. Since issuing his Extended Play record late last year Spectrals has been hard at work deep inside the Muppet Labs Jangle Factory working on his debut. Emerging from that hub of indiedom, with this record he's documented his relationship with his girlfriend utilizing the influences that he was raised upon. Sounding something like the Orange Juice, Byrds, Mazzy Star, and a farmer, Spectrals find their drawl, twang, and jangle as they mosey on their way through this record.
Bad Penny is nice subdued stuff that's the sound of a fall day spent in a field. It's lazy, bright, and charming and packed with just enough twang to make Nashville blush. This is a classic British pop album influenced by 80's jangle and Americana and it's that combination that makes the record as charming, rustic, and good as it is. From the lackadaisical strums of, "Lockjaw," to the almost Feltish dream pop of, "You Don't Have To Tell Me," listening to Bad Penny is like being lost in a dream you don't want to end.
Wispy, nearly ethereal, and rooted in classic British pop Bad Penny is a fantastic album of indie that's in love and unafraid to show it. For a guy who used to just goof off in Hardcore bands, Louis Jones has been blessed by the gods of jangle and given the gift of a brilliant pop sensibility. His ability to write classic tunes as if on a whim, and his ability to meld influences so seamlessly allow Spectrals to be one heck of a band. And I sense that's all that Spectrals are after. Thankfully they've gotten just what they were looking for.
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