Jacob Turnbloom - Laughter in the Forever After 2xLP - Blue w/ Splatter Vinyl

Half Way Home (2022)

Jacob Turnbloom is one of my favorite artists.  Primarily because of his work in the amazing Mrs. Magician, but he has also released several solo efforts, all of which are worth your while.  Laughter in the Forever After is no exception.

I will get the two minor criticisms out of the way first.  First, I don't find this album to be as consistently great as I do Mrs. Magician records.  And I think that's because of my second issue, there are more synthy 80s sounding songs than I typically prefer.  "Ray's Occult" and "Pink Flamingos" are probably the two songs I would point to as being examples of this.  They're just a little too Stranger Things for me to really get behind.  That said, I am notorious for having very little patience for any sort of 80s or synth heavy music, so my bias is definitely going to show through here more than others might.

But when the album is at the more upbeat end of the spectrum and guitars are the primary driving force, this album soars and can hold its own with anything Jacob has released in the past.  "Balboa Park," "Hey Allison" and "Love is a Spaceship" are three of the best songs on this album and really showcase what makes Jacob Turnbloom so great.  He has a knack for hooks that aren't immediately obvious.  They're not always anthemic singalongs, but they melodies will get imprinted on your brain after a few listens.  He's also one of the better lyricists going these days, managing to tie together equal parts of frustration, optimism, joy and sarcasm in a way I'm not sure anyone else can.

All in all, it's a really good record.  Yeah, there's a few songs that don't engage me the same way as the others, but viewed as a whole there's a lot going on that I really dig.  Plus, there's the great news that Mrs. Magician is working on their third full length and I don't know if it's possible for me to be more excited about that one coming out eventually.

Jacob Turnbloom - Laughter in the Forever After:
https://jacobturnbloom1.bandcamp.com/album/laughter-in-the-forever-after-full-album

Jacob Turnbloom - Cemetery Luau LP - Pink Vinyl (/100)

Cheddar Goblin (2019)

Jacob Turnbloom is the main singer in one of my favorite bands, Mrs. Magician.  He's started up a record label called Cheddar Goblin and his first release is a solo record of his own.  It's going to be hard to not compare them to prior work done with Mrs. Magician, but if you are a Mrs. Magician fan, I cannot fathom you also not digging Cemetery Luau.

More than anything, these songs remind me of early Mrs. Magician.  The types of songs they were releasing on their 7"s prior to Strange Heaven or some of the tracks compiled onto their B Sides compilation.  You aren't going to get the sheen of Bermuda, but you also aren't going to get the lo fi hiss of the Jacob Turnbloom Death Tape.  Cemetery Luau is kind of that perfect middle ground, and that really lets the songs shine through.  Even though this is a solo album, it's not one of those sparse 'dude with a guitar' records.  Jacob handles the bass and drum duties as well resulting in a full band sound.

While there are minor surfy elements in Jacob's guitar playing, to me I find the songs on this album to have more of a Bakesale era Lou Barlow in Sebedoh type of lived in quality to them.  Low key for the most part and mostly concerned with telling the story of the song.  And the songs tell great stories.  Jacob Turnbloom is one of my favorite current lyricists as he always manages to cast a wry eye at the world and at relationships, but never comes across as bitter or hopeless.  I really love this record.  It's one of the best in a year crowded with some pretty incredible records.

Jacob Turnbloom - "Ride The Past Waves Of The Future"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjBA0qxxcg8

Jacvob Turnbloom - "Suncoast Digest":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqmqrPrJJv4

Jacob Turnbloom - Reborn Boys 7" - Black Vinyl & Red Vinyl (/100)

Thrill Me (2015)

While I'm doing my best to patiently wait for the new Mrs. Magician album to be released, I've been keeping up on the various other projects that everyone has been involved in.  Recently I've written about the Hideout LP, the Soaks cassette and now we're on to the new Jacob Turnbloom 7".  I picked up the limited to 100 red vinyl version as soon as it went on sale and then much to my surprise, Thrill Me sent a copy on black vinyl to me to review.  It was pretty cool to see something I was anticipating so much show up for review and the fact that this is a damn good 7" only made it better.

Right off the bat I'll point out that neither of these songs sound much like Mrs. Magician.  Jacob Turnbloom really does a great job of making this solo work stand apart from the songs normally released by his main band.  While I will certainly use Mrs. Magician as a frame of reference due to a few similar traits, don't expect a couple of songs that were just not quite good enough for the band, these are top notch.

"Reborn Boys" is built off of a repeating synth lead coupled with big, loud guitars.  There's none of the trademark Mrs. Magician reverb floating around on the guitars in this song, it's a fatter and much crunchier guitar tone.  It's a fantastic, catchy song that is further elevated by Jacob's distinct vocals.  A lot of bands can't pull off hitting those high notes, but they fit right in on this track.

"Heartbreaker" is structured a little more closely to the way that a Mrs. Magician song may sound, but again the execution and sounds created end up sounding totally different and fresh.  I actually like this song even better than the A-side.  "Heartbreaker" starts off with bass & vocals and when that clean guitar kicks in, everything comes alive.  Once again there's a little bit of 80's sounding synth providing the song with an additional layer of dynamics.

Both songs are stellar.  For me this was a must have 7" before I even listened to it, due to its connection with one of my very favorite bands.  But unlike so many other records this year, Jacob Turnbloom managed to exceed my lofty expectations.

Jacob Turnbloom - "Reborn Boys":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lKIcvBMs1M