Dovecote Records have set a February 21st release date for Jonquil's forthcoming full-length, Point of Go. The album follows a split 7" with Solid Gold Dragons (Jonquil bass/trumpet player Sam Scott), and their radiant One Hundred Suns EP, celebrated for its upbeat tempos and creative integration of afro and indie-pop.
Fronted by Hugo Manuel, who also performs under the solo moniker Chad Valley, the quartet recently returned stateside for CMJ '11, following a phenomenal US spring debut where they performed three sold-out New York sets in 48 hours.
Point Of Go emerges as a glimmeringly positive step in a new direction, a record that is, in their own words, "far more poppy and accessible" than anything they've previously written. Recorded over a six-week period in a farmhouse studio it takes the band's summery flourishes and intricate guitars, and strips them back to a set of immediate, direct pop songs. With influences rooted firmly in the past - from Fleetwood Mac to The Smiths, Chic and Earth, Wind and Fire to Arthur Russell - the quartet's LP is an exercise in classic pop sensibilities held up by a modern backbone. Point of Go will be released in the rest of the world by Blessing Force; a growing community of artists, musicians and writers in Oxford (UK) that involves the band's other projects Chad Valley, Pocket House and Solid Gold Dragons.
