by Andy Kellman
The title of Jack Splash and his fellow revelers' third album is indicative, not that it wouldn't be telling as a title for either one of Plantlife's first two full-lengths. It's steeped a little more in synth-funk than Remembering Back to Now and The Return of Jack Splash, but Time Traveller is definitely all about funk, whether that means James Brown, Sly & the Family Stone, Funkadelic, or Prince. In various guitar riffs, basslines, and choruses, there are subtle allusions to '60s, '70s, and '80s funk nuggets -- "Was that Mass Production, or was it Heatwave...or was it both?" -- while "Agirllikeudeservesamanwhotreatsuhowulike" pretty much lifts Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio's "It's Time to Party Now" wholesale, despite its Princely title. Splash's bratty Lil Wayne-meets-Michael Henderson falsetto can wear thin across 66 sprawling minutes (the crew would benefit from a second lead voice), but something far more problematic would have to be in play to impair this stomping good time.