“Those radio days came and went and left us behind,” sings The Jazz June’s Andrew Low on ‘Nothing To See Here’. If ever a band displayed a heightened level of self-awareness, this is it.
Formed in the mid-90s and part of the same underground scene that birthed Jimmy Eat World, The Get Up Kids, Braid and The Promise Ring, The Jazz June were somewhat ignored during the emo major label killing fields of 1999-2002, left instead to release critically-adored albums such as ‘The Medicine’ under the radar. The radio days did indeed come and go, but The Jazz June were somewhat lost in the static.
Fast forward 12 years though, and ‘After The Earthquake’ is one of the most unexpected – and triumphant – returns of an emo revival that shows little evidence of slowing down. The bitter irony being if ‘After the Earthquake’ was released a decade earlier it would have been heralded a touchstone of the emo explosion.
Perhaps the boldest move by The Jazz June is to come back with a sound that has plenty in common with their previous output but which is also resolutely forward looking. The angular edges have sufficiently softened, the sound is full and engaging, and the challenging elements – the obtuse time changes, the heavy percussion and the serpentine song structures – have all been stripped right back. Instead, ‘After The Earthquake’ is an album which shows the flourishes and character of their sound but which is, in truth, much more straightforward indie rock – and it’s the best they’ve ever sounded.
Take the aforementioned ‘Nothing To See Here’. There’s a crazy, wobbly and frazzled guitar line that runs throughout, but stays clearly in the background. A decade ago, that would’ve been pushed to the fore with the melody – and it is a glorious melody – left to fight for attention. It’s a subtle shift but it works superbly.
Indeed, right from the first beat of opener ‘Over Underground’ (which debuted earlier this year on their split with those duded in Dikembe) you can see this new emphasis on melody and song structure. A svelte 3 minutes, it’s as traditional a pop song as you can imagine. And it’s bloomin’ fabulous. The bridge sounds like it’s come from late 80s Manchester and is only a gladiolus short of a Morrissey hipshake, but by God, it’s easily one of the best opening tracks of the year.
And in many ways, these short, sharp pop songs are the real gems in ‘After The Earthquake’. ‘With Honors’, despite it’s somewhat miserable tone, is an enjoyable toe-tapper while ‘It Came Back’ could sit on any of the mid-career Promise Ring records (or any of the early Band of Horses records, which perhaps again shows the more straight-up rock influence which runs throughout ‘After The Earthquake’). You can even forgive ‘Stuck On Repeat’ for sounding like Cameo’s ‘Word Up’ due to it delivering a much needed change of pace and a rollicking, rolling drumbeat.
Elsewhere ‘Ain’t It Strange’ keeps things interesting with another widdly guitar line, although the song itself is pure left-field indie rock (and does have a rather haunting backing vocal), while the title track sees an element of American seeping in to their sound.
Considering the other feted reunions in the genre, it’s somewhat funny to think that one of emo’s lesser heralded bands have delivered the finest return of the year. Yet by coming up with something that is both classic and forward thinking – while still displaying their quirky nature – The Jazz June have succeeded in finally pulling up a chair at the top table.
4.5/5
‘After The Earthquake’ by The Jazz June is out now on Topshelf Records.
The Jazz June links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp
Words by Rob Mair (@bobnightmair
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