Album Review: Be Slowly by Jaws

Birmingham’s Jaws have been lumped in with the B-Town “scene”, a conceit designed to cope with the fact that there are some bands from Birmingham. Being saddled with a scene does Jaws no favours whatsoever, but Be Slowly has enough quality to ensure that they exist well outside such parochial bubbles. They’re more than capable of standing on their own terms.

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Picture this: A glistening sunny beach packed with holidaymakers having a good time is interrupted by furious pointing and screaming. Suddenly, the golden-crested waves turn a deep crimson. Screams erupt around the sandy haven. A Spielbergian score of marching drums ruptures the silence. A grey fin ….

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If there’s one central piece of evidence that NME no longer has the cultural influence that it once did, it’s the fact that the whole 'B-Town' thing never took hold in the public consciousness after being much trumpeted in late 2012 to early 2013. Aside from the factual inaccuracy of the name (even a geographically illiterate Belfastian like myself knows that Birmingham is a city, not a town), the bands who became associated with the scene seem to have had attention placed on them far too early in their development, hence the decidedly mixed reviews that two of the major bands associated with it, Swim Deep and Peace, received for their debut, major label albums. Perhaps it is for this reason that JAWS, the third band to be deemed torchbearers of the scene, have waited for more than a year before unleashing their first album, the aptly titled Be Slowly, on us.

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Head here to submit your own review of this album. I used to wonder what The Charlatans' legacy would be. Of all the baggys, and despite their crossover success, I was concerned most of all for them. The Monday's had the Factory connection and a film made about their eccentricities. The Stone Roses ….

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JAWS have been championed, alongside fellow B-Town bands Peace and Swim Deep, as the great Birmingham comeback. The precocious four-piece have been steadily gaining a healthy following both in their native UK and stateside by releasing material since 2012, much of which finds itself on their debut album, Be Slowly. But while many publications have been quick to herald JAWS as a slacker pop revivalists, it's difficult to discern if or what they're bringing to the table that's new or exciting.When asked what differentiates their sound from other dreamy guitar pop bands, their response was a complacent "Erm … not sure," and I'd have to agree with them, as does their debut.

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