Jamuel Saxon shows growth on ‘Pre-Madonna’

Jameul Saxon's Keith Milgaten (left) with drummer Jayson Ehm
- Photo by Anthony Levas

Jamuel Saxon
Pre-Madonna
(Single Screen)

When I first caught wind of Jamuel Saxon in early 2009, I wrote that the electro project from the somewhat over-industrious Keith Milgaten (The Vision of a Dying World, Black Mamba) was San Diego’s “white boy version of T-Pain” and that the music reminded me a little of R. Kelly, providing the “perfect hipster bump ’n’ grind soundtrack.”

Since then, those hipsters have caught on and Jamuel Saxon has become Milgaten’s full-time focus. The electro-R&B beats and Auto-Tuned vocals remain on this LP, the follow-up to 2010’s Landmines & Chandeliers. But what’s immediately evident is how much Milgaten has grown, both personally and musically. At first listen, Pre-Madonna can seem gimmicky and outlandish, great for a tight-jeans dance party and not much else. But there is substance and soul within the bombastic beats and robotic vocals.

Nowhere is this more evident than on the album’s centerpiece, “Haunted,” and closing track, “Lighthouse Attendant.” The former is a propulsive, Cut Copy-ish electro jam that attacks, retreats and then subsides like a party girl after a weekend binge. The latter is a groovy ballad (or is it a slow jam?) that proves he’s after your heart as well as your body. Gorgeous and heartfelt, it’s one of the best tracks Milgaten has ever made.

I can’t tell whether the album’s title is a statement on Milgaten’s rediscovered spirituality after nearly overdosing last year, or just a cheeky dig on ’80s pop, which is clearly an influence. Either way, he seems to understand that the party eventually has to end, literally and figuratively, and that it’s the soundtrack that follows that really puts the “intelligent” in “intelligent dance music.” Let’s call it music for the after-party. Or is it the hotel lobby? Doesn’t matter. R. Kelly would surely approve.

Jamuel Saxon will celebrate the release of Pre-Madonna with White Apple Tree and Tourism at The Casbah on Thursday, Jan. 19.