Jo Bartlett -‘9×7.’ (Strike Back Records)

Jo Bartlett was the Jo in It’s Jo and Danny, and amongst her other achievements over the past fifteen years is that of founding the Green Man Festival in Wales. She now unveils her latest solo album and the feeling is…it’s alright, but this could have been so much more.

It’s not to say it’s a bad album. It’s not unpleasant and over the course of thirty-three minutes it doesn’t outstay its welcome. The issue with it is simply that while it’s pleasant enough as background music, there’s nothing here to make you sit up and consider this as something special.

It starts off with recent single ‘Dying Kiss’ which is acceptable, but the problem is that the nine tracks here just potter along, without anything to particularly recommend them, and sadly, at the end of the album, it seems to have just melted away. It’s her album, but I can’t help feeling that the album would have benefited from either being more stripped down, or alternatively investigating her more adventurous impulses; instead of the end result which just feels like there’s nothing to separate it from so many other albums.

**1/2

9×7 is out on Strike Back Records on January 12.