Jorma

From the head-in-the-clouds portrait on the album cover to the dreamy piano pop and off-kilter rock within, Jorma Whittaker's self-titled solo debut evokes some not-so-subtle comparisons to John Lennon's Imagine. While the comparisons don't hold up entirely, this album is more in the mode of a confessional, singersongwriter album than Whittaker's output with Marmoset, although the trippy, droning "Molly Melancholy" would've fit in just fine on Record in Red. The overall sound of Jorma Whittaker also recalls his previous band, especially since Whittaker worked with several former Marmoset members, including LonPaul Ellrich, whose production skills gave Marmoset's albums — and this one — a warm, worn-in, slightly odd sound. This sound works equally well on the album's hazily atmospheric songs, such as the slightly creepy "Birds Are Falling Through the Sky," and its more upbeat moments, like the Anglophilic cover of "Man With Money," a 1965 Everly Brothers B-side. Jorma Whittaker also has the indulgent moments required of a solo album, some of which work better than others: starting the album with the slow-flowing, seven-minute ballad "Clocks in the Sun" is a daring move that eventually pays off, but the piano interlude "Morning Meets Evening Walk" conveys day shifting into night effectively, but otherwise isn't all that interesting. However, it's the vulnerability on display throughout Jorma Whittaker that marks it as a true solo album. "If It's Over" is a gently acerbic breakup song that notes "It's not wrong to want to survive"; "Walk/Throw"'s clever lyrics mask and reveal pain at the same time; and on the weirdly dreamy closer "Perfect Light," Whittaker admits, "I'm shallow/I know/You don't have to like me/But if you do/I don't care/I want you to like me." This roundabout way of thinking informs the whole album, from woozy songs like "Crystal Lines" to the breathy, lighter-than-air pop of "Fall in Love" and "Popcorn." At times this makes Jorma Whittaker a less gripping listen than Marmoset's albums, but ultimately the album is just as true to Whittaker's quirky muse as his previous work was.