Francis Doom and the glitter ball universe of "I Caught A Light" (Official Lyric Video)

 

"I caught a light inside a jar / Clutched onto in the dark / But it flickered out / When I tightened down..."

There are a lot of doo wop punk songs out in the atmosphere, sometimes so much that they kind of get lost, cancel each other out but when I stepped into the beautiful vintage cascade of "I Caught A Light" by Francis Doom, the project of New Jersey-based musician, Jay Sakong (known primarily for being the singer/songwriter/guitarist of OWEL) it was like all the air was sucked out of the room. The drama, the powerful embrace is largely do to Sakong's killer voice and the sonic elements, glued together by a nostalgic organ sound and an exquisitely powerful production, from the circular 50's piano shapes, the stunningly punchy bass and drums, snappy guitar strikes and walls of glacial synth sadness that seem to extend on that original vintage organ sound. Sakong's vocal performance also gives you goose bumps because against the powerful sonic framework, there is no wink or smile, no cheekiness or self deprecating nod to old school rock but a purely emotional vocal countenance commiserating with your own heartbreak. 

LINER NOTES under the glitter ball:

[Francis Doom is the project of New Jersey-based musician, Jay Sakong. Known mostly for being the singer/songwriter/guitarist of OWEL, he was aided with the help of fellow OWEL member/bassist Nunzio Moudatsos to record the debut album “I Caught A Light”. They spent the spring and summer of 2022 in a shed behind Nunzio’s house that was converted into a small studio to record ten songs. While Jay would write and produce, Nunzio would engineer and play bass. The aim was to create music that felt both vintage and new. The bones of the songs would be classic while the flesh around the bones would feel modern. The descriptive words that kept coming to mind were “like a ballroom, on fire, in space”.]

Days float by so quietly
Like abstract details of a dream
We never notice how they’re strange
Till we wake
I've tried to photograph your gaze
The sudden flash was too abrasive made you
Turn away
I caught a blurry face

Couldn’t keep it
As much as I’ve so badly needed
I’ll lose it by trying to repeat it
A feeling

I’ll never know it
Never for more than a moment
Miss it by trying to own it
A feeling
A feeling

I caught a light inside a jar

-Robb Donker Curtius

    





Hello: Anyone enjoying this read and American Pancake, end of year is always a more difficult time in terms of finances. If you can help out by contributing to our Go Fund Me below it would be super appreciated. Cheers Robb

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/34yzF68WWsxHzf2tprniIn

https://francisdoom.bandcamp.com/track/i-caught-a-light

https://www.instagram.com/francisdoommusic/

https://www.facebook.com/francisdoommusic

https://twitter.com/francisdoomnj

https://soundcloud.com/francisdoommusic



Francis Doom is the project of New Jersey-based musician, Jay Sakong. Known mostly for being the singer/songwriter/guitarist of OWEL, he was aided with the help of fellow OWEL member/bassist Nunzio Moudatsos to record the debut album “I Caught A Light”. They spent the spring and summer of 2022 in a shed behind Nunzio’s house that was converted into a small studio to record ten songs. While Jay would write and produce, Nunzio would engineer and play bass. The aim was to create music that felt both vintage and new. The bones of the songs would be classic while the flesh around the bones would feel modern. The descriptive words that kept coming to mind were “like a ballroom, on fire, in space”.

Francis Doom, doo wop, post punk, surf rock, indie rock, "I Caught A Light", singer/songwriter/guitarist of OWEL, project of New Jersey-based musician, Jay Sakong,