Philly’s Ma Jolie have released a record that probably encapsulates all that I like about punk rock in 2012, its got some throat tearing vocals, excellent riffs and some absolutely huge sing-along moments. ‘Compared to Giants’ kicks off with the fantastic ’88mph’ which sets the pace for the rest of the record. From the first line"I move to fast to fall in love.“I was hooked.
Often my gripe with records in this genre is the songs feel a bit too long, around three minutes tends to be the benchmark here which is just the right length for this kind of band. The record hurtles along through its ten tracks, stand outs for me include ‘No Pennsylvania Is The Reason’ which has an absolute beast of a chorus which should evoke the greatest live sing-alongs.
<a href="http://majolie.bandcamp.com/album/compared-to-giants” data-mce-href=“http://majolie.bandcamp.com/album/compared-to-giants”>…Compared to Giants by Ma Jolie</a>
Record closing ‘The Shitty Beatles’ is an age old tale of not selling yourself and your morals short. “You’re not John Lennon or fucking McCartney Do you even have a soul? You sold it years ago for a song and dance. I’ll be the better man.” For me this is the best song on ‘Compared to Giants.’
If Ma Jolie remind me of anything it would be RVIVR, minus the female vocals. And for me ‘Compared To Giants’ was a great introduction to the band. And definitely has convinced me to keep an eye on them. Hopefully people will hear this and enjoy it as much as I did.
4/5
‘Compared To Giants’ by Ma Jolie is available now on Bandcamp.
Ma Jolie links: Facebook|Twitter|Tumblr|Bandcamp
Words by Ryan Clayton
