Evening, folks. Next up in my packed schedule of review requests is the upcoming EP from Cleveland-based, feel-good indie rock band, The Jobs. Sailing Upon The Times is due to be released on streaming services on January 8th, and tonight I have the honor of getting an early peek at it.
It opens with a mellow track titled "La Sirena," which, being totally honest, is not the track I would have chosen to open an album. That is not me saying that it is a weak track by any means, it is simply just a little too mellow for my tastes. I would've put this somewhere toward the end, maybe the last or second to last track. Mellowness aside, the composition of the song is really quite beautiful. It features a light and reminiscent guitar melody, with surfy undertones and charming simplicity. My biggest drawback with this song is that it is a bit repetitive for my taste, but listening to it transports me to a chill (and serene) tropical beach with a cold beer and a beautiful woman. So I don't mind being stuck there... who would?
Track 2, "Transmission Radio," opens with the vocalists showcasing their choral abilities by hitting high notes only paired with a piano. The beginning piano note ends a little abruptly for my ears, I would've considered holding it a hair longer, but it quickly recovers as the song moves ahead into its meat and potatoes; a boppy little groove that has you nodding your head from side to side without even realizing it. This is a strong contender for what I would use as the EP's opening track over "La Sirena," as I feel this has a higher energy while "Sirena" is a perfect winding down track to serve as an EP closer. Some of the notes the vocalist hits on this track remind me a bit of Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers. That is just in the sound of the singer's voice, as the frontman of The Jobs clearly has a stronger sense of key, and just stronger singing ability in general, than Kiedis. My biggest drawback with this track, as I have mentioned in previous posts, is the abrupt ending. The outro is beautiful in its simplicity, as was the riff throughout the whole song, and it's over before you're ready. I was looking for one last note, held and faded out, but that's not what I was given.
Track 3's intro might be my favorite on the whole EP. A driving percussive rhythm is how we are introduced to "Sunrise Over The Hill," and I am bobbing my head and engaged with the song before it even truly begins. It's on this track that the singer's pop-punk sound really shines through. And whatever your opinion of pop-punk might be, it truly works here. It is not a punk track by any stretch of the word, but I believe in my heart of hearts that if they wanted to take a punk turn on a future EP, they could easily do it. I would have considered tuning the guitar down half a step, and maybe playing lower on the keyboards as well. The note balance between the singer and the instruments are just a tad off the mark for me on this one, but I still very much enjoyed the song.
Remember what I said about "Sunrise" opening with driving percussion? Here it is again. Marvelous. "On A Holiday" might be their most pop-punk sounding track. It moves, makes the listener move, it's light and heavy, and just fun. If Tony Hawk ever gets off his ass and makes a new video game, I hope it's American Wasteland 2, and this song needs to be on the soundtrack. (Okay, Underground 3 is also acceptable...)
Track 5, "If You Have No One," has a percussion part, similar to the prior song, within its intro, but it quickly changes things up as we move into the chorus. The chorus itself has some vocal overdubs, which are always fun, because they add some depth to the track. However, I really wish there were some harmonies from the background vocals. I was practically screaming for some on this track, and they never came. It's a fun song, and certainly just as well written and put together as the other 4 on this EP, but adding some harmonies to the chorus just before the overdub would really have taken it that extra mile.
Overall, this EP is a very strong studio effort. The musicians and vocalist all have damn near perfected their craft at a very early stage, and it really was a joy to review this EP. The whole thing was written and composed quite spectacularly, with few hiccups that I would have considered polishing a little more. The biggest overarching strength that these guys have here, in addition to their writing and playing ability, is the mixing. Normally, when I listen to indie artists and their early work, the production is either a little too rough and raw, or too electronic and overproduced. These guys, however, have found the perfect balance.
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