Jack Peñate wants to inject human feeling into pop music again. And not just in the vocals — he wants it in every last note played. He and his crack band, Joel Porter (bass) and Alex Robins (drums), play a lively, sometimes frenetic mix of rockabilly, country, rock 'n' roll, Latin, lounge jazz and probably 10 other genres, demonstrating a mastery of not just the broad strokes of the idioms, but of the subtleties that make them soar and your booty move. It's pure throwback music, the 1980s version of the '50s.
Peñate has spent the last few years as a regular in the London live-music club scene, but things really heated up this summer. After playing the Glastonbury Festival in June, his single "Torn On The Platform" hit No. 4 on the U.K. charts, shooting him from an indie sensation to a bona-fide pop act. Their first album, the crisply produced "Matinee," is due out on Oct. 1.
The guitarist has a honey-smooth, high tenor, full of grace and power, and a great accent much like The Cure's Robert Smith. Then there's his look: he's a tall, stout man who wears a sports coat and collar shirt like he was wooing a room of '50s high-school girls. He oozes confidence and, in his quieter songs, the clincher for female fans: sensitivity.