Artist:     The Bumper Jacksons

Album:     Too Big World

Label:     Self-released

Release Date:     07/23/2015

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The Bumper Jacksons’ six band members bring a music shop with them as they feature instruments like a baby trombone, mouth horn, banjo and washboard. A “suitcase contraption” is also a credited instrument on their new release, Too Big World.

Too Big World starts with “Coffee Mama,” and it certainly wakes you up to the rest of the album. From the start, the Bumper Jacksons jumps into their jazzy, 1930s, big band tone. It sets the scene, but is the song really about coffee (wink, wink)? This is a sexy, fun, truthful album.

The first two songs introduce us to the variety of vocals belonging to the Bumper Jacksons. While “Coffee Mama” is sung by Chris Ousley, track two (“Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down”) is brought to us by Jess Eliot Myhre. The varying sounds, yet consistency in themes throughout makes this a perfect end of summer, back porch listen-with-a-lemonade album. It’s also great “fuel for the road,” as the band says.

None of the 16 tracks should be skipped. Even some of the slower, more somber tracks like “Adventure Story” and “I Learned I Was Wrong” are welcomed breaks from the upbeat ones. Both of these songs are beautifully sung and perfectly pair the band’s lead vocalists.

This is a no frills album, which works wonderfully for the Bumper Jacksons. It sounds just the way you’d expect to see them live as you walk down an alley and hear sounds coming from the local bar. You pop in and see the Bumper Jacksons in the corner of a bar with all of their instruments, jamming while the whiskey flows. There’s dancing in the background, and hollering for more as each song ends. This album allows you to step back in time.

-Brenda Hillegas