Jocasta (band)

Jocasta were Tim Arnold (Vocals, Guitar and Piano), Jack Reynolds (Lead Guitar), Adrian Meehan (Drums) and Andy Lewis (Bass). They formed whilst Arnold and Reynolds were still at school in the early nineties, but became what you might call professional in 1995 when all four members of the band moved to London and after doing six gigs (the last of which included a string section) they were signed to Sony.

The sound of Jocasta has been described as 'epic'. Lyrically pre-empting the fascination of London that later became "de rigueur" with the Libertines et al., Arnold and Reynolds worked in an illegal Soho bar, thus the debut album No Concidence was full of tales of prostitutes, dealers and the characters of the dodgy West End which the band practically lived in at the time.

Musically, Jocasta were the forerunners for what we now know as alternative stadium rock, pre-empting the sound of bands like Muse, Coldplay and Snow Patrol.

One early quote of Tim Arnold's : "I wanted to hear Black Sabbath jamming with the Philharmonic" should give you an idea what the album is like and indeed, the London Symphony Orchestra play out 19 year old Arnold's string arrangements on five of the album tracks, most notably Inside Out, the closing song. The top forty single Go was a far cry from what the band were about. Songs like Perfect and Single as Hell were what made the band stand out from the crowd. Jocasta only went from strength to strength both critically and in popularity throughout 1997 until a week before Tim's 21st birthday when, due to change of personnel and boring internal (yet unfair) politics, Sony dropped the band by fax on the same day the album was released.

After Arnold's vision of a 'String ensemble Rock band' was singlehandedly taken away, with what can only be described as a stiff upper lip and a great deal of tenacity, he carried on and carved out a unique solo career. Some of the tracks from 'No Coincidence' may now be heard on Tim's third solo album 'Secrets of Soho'.

Nick Duerdan of Q magazine said in a prophetic review of their debut album: "this is a highly impressive debut whose breadth of vision suggests an ambition not easily sated, and the mixture of searing power pop, swooning serenades and swelling string sections is often magnificent."

Tracklisting:

1. Laughing 2. Go 3. Life In A Day 4. Change Me 5. Actress 6. Leave The Light On 7. Something To Say 8. Single As Hell 9. Perfect 10. Face You 11. Crackbaby 12. Inside Out © Sony BMG 1997