When a promotional blurb suggests an artist is influenced by music as diverse as The Police, DJ Shadow and Claude Debussy, it’s hard to know what to expect. Is this record label hype? Is it a case of a performer clutching at straws, hoping that something will attract the potential listener? When it comes to singer songwriter Joe Geni, such wild claims…really aren’t so wild. His 2021 album ‘Doggerland’ offers a mad hybrid sound where the mood lurches all over the place. Just exploring the track ‘Superbloom’ in isolation, Geni takes the light Afro rhythms of Peter Gabriel tunes like ‘Mercy Street’ and fuses them with a bit of electronica, then adds a huge vocal that occasionally sounds like something David MacAlmont would turn into an absolute showstopper. Then, there’s the lengthy ‘Eyes Like The Ocean’ which bends what would’ve been a great pop-rock sound – akin to a moody deep cut from Sting – and adorns that with an almost trip-hop like atmosphere.

It might sound glib, but Geni makes thoughtful music for the more discerning listener. Almost nothing about his work is sugary, or even immediately accessible. And such is the case with 2024’s ‘Cities Built Upon Cities’, another sprawling and unpredictable collection of songs where Joe follows his muse into a concept laden soundscape.

The artier elements of the album are immediately evident when the title track opens with a jazz bass and piercing synths, sounding like the guts of Percy Jones have been smeared upon something from Tears For Fears’ cutting room floor. The more intrusive sounds are gradually held together by a great drum part which serves more than an easy rhythmic purpose. The beats are broad; almost cinematic, taking in elements of slow jazz and world music to create an interesting yet sparse backdrop. Slowly, these disparate elements begin to make sense, and Joe arrives with distinctive croon, layering sounds that waver between 80s pop star, Jeff Buckley and modern prog mouthpiece. His voice never seems to settle, and yet he approaches this slightly jarring, loud sound as naturally as Nick Drake would drop his plummy English accent against a light folky guitar. As the tune grows into something grander, Geni’s vocal range really shows itself, adding broad melodic strokes to music that gradually sounds more prog-centric. By the time he wails, surprisingly effortlessly, through the final notes before stepping back to allow a bendy bass to take centre stage, something that once appeared fragmented and arty feels like a wholly absorbing listen. It may well throw the listener straight in at the deep end, but those who are able to find their way through will certainly find the rest of ‘Cities…’ brimming with even more musical treats.

Moving into ‘City Where The Sky Subsides’, everything centres around a chopping guitar that falls somewhere between hard edged indie and melodic post punk. That’s enough to catch your attention, already feeling rather different to the previous track, but again, it’s the performer’s choice of vocal style that really makes this stand out. Whereas most singers might choose to adorn the angular sounds with something moody, Geni delivers another high toned croon. That makes his voice sound more like something lifted from an 80s neo-prog tune, perhaps even something from Twelfth Night’s ‘Art & Illusion’ sessions. The vocal dominates throughout, but there’s some great musical flourishes here too. The combination of hard rhythm guitar and flowing keys sets up a brilliant contrast with ease, and a solid drum sound boosts Geni’s rock credentials, even though this could nominally be classed as a rock recording. Then, at the point you think this has no more to give, Geni pulls out the stops to share something massively shrill – theatrical, even. The end result is something that’s arty but sharp; melodic, but occasionally strange. It takes a little more work on behalf of the listener before the musical gold can be uncovered, but this suggests that ‘Cities Built Upon Cities’ is the kind of album that’s set to remain interesting in the longer term.

On the more mellow side of things, the light ‘City of Dreams’ teases with the minimalism of Paul Buchanan, the arty, theatrical tones of Anhoni & The Johnsons, and even blends in a stringed element that makes everything feel as if it were created with a soundtrack in mind. Despite the ear always being drawn to Geni’s commanding presence, you’ll also discover a few moments of melodic jazz guitar here that reinforce any feelings that this record refuses to be pigeonholed, whilst the swirling ‘City of Energy’ takes the more ambient influences to compliment a huge, theatrical vocal for its opening act, before finding space for dance-oriented rhythms (clearly where the DJ Shadow influence comes in, although there are also elements of Nitin Sawhney) beneath another great vocal. It’s the kind of number that first time listeners might find challenging due to its knowing grandiosity, but in time, this becomes one of the album’s more enduring pieces – a great stand-alone snapshot of the Joe Geni “sound”. The high register vocals are given free reign to flow across several bars on ‘City Where I Fell In Love’, stretching the word love to an extreme. Elsewhere, other simple phrasing takes a grander stance, but this isn’t by any means a number without melody. Geni’s bass work, in particular, sounds great pulsing against 80s tinged keys, and there are also moments here where its possible to hear the influence of Marc Almond giving his all, taking Geni’s sound from the quirky and arty, and into the classic. Despite this more offering something with more of an accessible feel, it isn’t actually one of the album’s more interesting numbers, but if it acts as bait for the unfamiliar to backtrack and explore Joe’s other works, it’s more than served a purpose.

A little more obtuse, ‘City of Patterns’ fills several minutes with a crying vocal that feels at odds with an ambient keyboard, before veering off into a musical landscape where a groove-oriented rhythm section take the arrangement in another prog-ish influenced direction. After using the time to build tension, it’s a real thrill when the keys and voice literally explode when hitting the main hook. And unlike a lot of this record, it’s a definite hook: the repetition of the title in Joe’s by now recognisable tone topped by a wordless trill worthy of Jimmy Somerville gives the slightly experimental music a huge and friendly climax. Sharing something busier from the outset, ‘City of Endless Time’ offers an off-kilter rhythm that merrily chucks a slight Afrobeat influence into what could’ve been a fairly straight pop-rock number. Nevertheless, a soul inflected bassline and some very 90s keys do some heavy lifting in the melodic stakes, and Joe – actually performing against expectations – delivers a very melodic high tenor which seems much keener than usual to sell the track’s poppier intentions. Not that this is in any way throwaway; his chosen tone has a massive amount of gravitas, and when heard harmonising with himself – every sound on this album bar the drums is created by Geni alone – he sounds very assured.

Nestled at the end of an already great disc, ‘City of Light’ presents a performance with a very 80s feel and a retro quality to some of the instrumentation, but it is far more than a slice of quick and easy nostalgia. From the outset, where Geni’s high tones rise against a blanket of keys, the track calls back to some of the more atmospheric aspects of ‘City Where The Sky Subsides’, but the arrival of a slightly disjointed rhythm and bursts of distorted guitar both ensure the track a very different feel. By the time the melody has grown, there are swathes of Talk Talk and even a hint of the more experimental elements of ‘New Gold Dream’ era Simple Minds at play, but Joe’s distinctive – and sometimes strange – vocals ensure this is a track with a very distinct sound of its own, too. It’ll take a few listens to get acclimatised, but if you can tune in, the bass grooves, sizeable hook and confident air are set to win you over, eventually creating a genuine climax to a sprawling work that never truly settles.

There are no radio friendly moments here, but in Geni’s self made land of invention, nor are there hugely self indulgent prog rock dirges either. He seems content with finding a musical space somewhere between these extremes; a place where artists like Elbow might find themselves, if only they were just a little braver, or prog rockers like Gazpacho may end up, if they could dial things back…just a little. At the end of it all, though, Joe Geni ultimately sounds like himself: a bold and unique voice set to give the more comfortable listener a welcome jolt. ‘Cities Built Upon Cities’ is challenging, but never wantonly so; sometimes melodic, but never easy. Those willing to invest the time might just discover one of the year’s more interesting recordings.

September/October 2024