RICHARD JANKOVICH‘s day jobs include being a member of BURNSIDE PROJECT and a remixer to the stars (RADIOHEAD, BECK, KRISTEN HERSH, OF MONTREAL). As POCKET, he proffers his own electro-pop tunes sung by famous friends. “Surround Him With Love” puts ROBYN HITCHCOCK into a psychedelic synth-cloud as eccentric as he is. “Beautiful Gray” features DAVE SMALLEY in an electro dance context as far away as you can get from DOWN BY LAW and DAG NASTY without being classical music, and it works at least as well as any of BOB MOULD‘s similar experiments. ASOBI SEKSU‘s YUKI CHIKUDATE joins Jankovich on “Sampo” for an ethereal pop tune, while SHUDDER TO THINK‘s CRAIG WEDREN picks up the baton for the quirky, guitar-driven “Someone to Run Away From.” The highlight is “Hear In Noiseville,” in which STEVE KILBEY of THE CHURCH adds his narcotic croon to the kind of acid-soaked electronica that he himself might dabble in on his solo records.
Each CD-single comes with a B-side and a handful of remixes. Frankly, I’ve rarely had any use for the latter, but the B’s, which feature lesser-known names but not lesser talents, are worthy additions to the Pocket canon. Particularly impressive is the glorious pop tune “Let Her Close Her Eyes,” starring SHONALI BHOWMIK of TIGERS AND MONKEYS, though the soaring pulse of “Swept” with LORAINE LELIS (MAHOGANY) and the buzzing romance of “Break Your Heart Wildly” with KIMI RECOR (LILOFEE) achieve grandeur as well. (The Smalley and Wedren songs are each other’s B-sides. Or A-sides. Whatever.)
The remarkable thing is Jankovich’s ability to work his singers’ distinct personalities into his mixes, accentuating their unique qualities without simply aping their usual musical settings. With singles coming up featuring TANYA DONNELLY, SLIM MOON, author RICK MOODY and, incredibly, MARK BURGESS, Pocket has a bright future ahead of invigorating the electronic pop scene.
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