Before talking about the French duo
Jamaica and their debut album,
No Problem, you really need to tackle the whole
Phoenix thing. Basically,
Antoine Hilaire and
Flo Lyonnet sound like their fellow countrymen in almost every way. The same clipped guitars, the same tightly wound drums, the same indie rock/electronic hybrid production style; even the vocals are roughly the same -- forceful at times, sweetly melodic at others. Add to that the fact that some of the tracks on the record sound like dead ringers for
Phoenix at various stages of their career and you have to accept that
Jamaica are
Phoenix wannabes. You also have to accept that they do a very good job of it and even add some fun tricks to the basic template. The occasional heavy metal guitar riffage, the sometimes snidely sarcastic lyrics, and the spotless production by
Justice's
Xavier De Rosnay all work to differentiate
Jamaica a little from their heroes. At their best, like on the super hooky "I Think I Like U 2" or the insistent rocker "Short and Entertaining," they manage to create something that stands on its own. ~ Tim Sendra