Twenty-four-year-old Dutch songwriter and producer Jacco Gardner works with the sonic palette of a much more seasoned musician. He wears his influences on his sleeve, too, and his impressive debut album, the just-released Cabinet of Curiosities, is the work of someone raised on a heavy diet of classic psych-folk (think Donovan or The Zombies). But not only does Gardner mimic the woozy, mostly British pop of yesteryear, he also refines it. Songs like “The One Eyed King” are appropriately if unimaginatively kaleidoscopic, featuring lyrics like “Thinking about the old days again/ Drifting down a river with no end.” Throughout, Gardner betrays an honest nostalgia, presenting a needed update on a tired style—’60s haze filtered through a millennial gaze.
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