JIMMY JAX PINCHAK- MAKE IT BETTER
04/09/2014
Jimmy Jax Pinchak
Make It Better
self-released; 2014
3.4 out of 5
By Ted Rogen
If you think you have heard the name Jimmy Jax Pinchak it may have been from acting. The 18-year-old has been acting since he was a wee one and most notably was in the movie “Enders Game” as Peter Wiggins. He is delving into music and recently released an album called Make It Better that revolves around blues-rock. Although the album is full of predictable rock clichés and Pinchak sounds like he is trying to sound like he is 30 rather than 18 he delivers decent songs. The production is clean, professional and commercially accessible.
The album opens with “There Is More,” which takes advantage of gritty guitars, a sensible verse with a catchy chorus and safe drumming. Pinchak has a deep voice and delivers a convincing performance. “On The Run” is a heavily influenced blues song that sounds like it could from a mix between Eric Clapton and B.B. King and that finds some influence from contemporary hard rock. The best part is the breakdown towards the end of the song and the song showcases some impressive guitar leads and piano. “Make It Better” contains some pretty addictive riffs and proves to be one of the better songs on the album while “Draggin’ the Line” contains excellent vocal harmonies. The female accompaniment sounded great and Pinchak sounded really good on this one because he didn’t sound as if he was trying too hard.
The last song on the album is “Soul Sacrifice” and it was an interesting way to end the album. It is clearly influenced by Santana with its heavy percussive elements and actually contains a drum solo (wasn't expecting this but it was quite enjoyable), bass solo and no vocals. It was quite a departure from the rest of the album.
Pinchak is talented and I admit I don't enjoy many albums from 18-year-olds but there were some solid moments on this album. The main issue Pinchak will have is his audience. He plays rock heavily influenced by blues. The older audience will just pop in artists like Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B King while people his age and younger will most likely be listening to the likes of Justin Bieber or whatever else high school kids are listening to these days. Pinchak needs to keep at it and develop his own recognizable style; something that is very feasible because of his age