Remember back in – whoa – 2003, when The Wrens reminded everyone how much we needed adventurous, well-crafted indie rock? Typically, those Jersey boys’re taking their good old time on a follow-up, contemplating, rather than capitalizing on their success. It took them seven years to get from Secaucus to East Rutherford; at that rate, they’re probably staggering through the streets of Passaic as we speak.Well, guys, feel free to keep wandering the aisles of QuickChek. I’ve found a viable replacement.
Glassboro, New Jersey’s Sure Juror (myspace) doesn’t sound just like The Wrens – though there’s some overlap – but the bands share a creative restlessness, a confidence, and an approach: They keep banging ‘60s pop against ‘90s alterna-rock until it blends or combusts. SJ comes drenched in Beach Boys charm and post-adolescent smarm. Never become your father
Never believe your friends
If you need something to believe in
Carry a gun
If you’ve been with me for any length of time you know I don’t post Bands of the Day. I don’t empty my inbox, out here. I don’t jump up and down, waving my arms around, often. And I get nervous, endorsing a group I haven’t seen live. But these guys have no shows planned, right now – they’re already mixing their next record – and the band’s first, self-titled CD is too good to sit on. So:
Hop, wave. Sure Juror is quite good.
Too good, almost. Someone on whom I forced the record – he’s addicted now, also – doesn’t think the band is real. It’s just too solid, too ridiculously assured to be a first record. “I wrote this song when I was 18,” says “Midge” (presumably band foreman Jonathan Heathcoate) on the band’s blog. Of course you did. Yes, there are some dismissible lyrics, some awkward phrasing; the words could be first-record stuff. But the music is solid from top to bottom; even when it gets clumsy and frantic, it’s in places that should be clumsy and frantic. Best of all, it works as an album. Individual songs cut and paste and layer textures, but the record as a whole has a fantastic flow. Which is one reason why I’m going to post a chunk of it here, in consecutive tracks. Grab them all, take the iPod off shuffle, let that Hype Machine Player play on through.
Don’t let the initial attack of “Sleeping Pill” chase you off: It’s the heaviest track on the record; twee-poppers, there’s plenty for you later on, though the band manages to indulge you without ever losing its balls. I put "Pill" upfront to show just how nimble Juror’s transitions could be. The bulk of it is manic, screechy grunge, loud-soft-loud, start-stop-start. Instead of petering out or exploding, at 2:47 the song shifts to showstopper four-part harmonies; because it preserves the darkness of the loud parts and the warmth of the solo guitar stuff, the change feels totally organic.
“Thank You in Advance” plays like an overture (for a musical you may not want to see – it’s “about porn addiction and God,” according to the blog). A great, driving drum beat and an urgent piano riff trade time with a lazy bassline, more pet sounds, bouncy midtempo pop, dreamy ice rink synths, and whiplash wham-bam punchiness. It all comes together in one big swirly assemblage. In “You’ll Never Recognize It” a mantra of sulking self-doubt gives way to soaring affirmations (then, again, questions). “Done Nothing” is hall of mirrors navel-gazing, and it’s smartly followed by the bitter, bright, head-bopping “Ex-Cuties;” lines like “our first fistfight” and “say the phrase that pays” finally fully complement the music.
“Ex-” is so catchy it would never leave your head... if it didn’t lead into another great track. And another. And another. But I’m not here to talk these songs to death. Honest. I’m here to shove them in your ears.
All of them: How can I justify throwing so many MP3s up in a single post? Where are the “Buy” links? Well, the band’s giving away their entire first CD. “Tired of the constant struggle to make our music available... our first record will be available here for free.” So go to surejuror.blogspot.com, where you can download the rest of Sure Juror (you’ll also find lyrics, and tabs, and some commentary). And go to the band’s myspace page to hear demos for their in-progress second album, Smut. Once smitten, tell your friends to do the same. I think they do the Jersey Pop Tradition, Frankie Valli right up through Ted Leo, proud, and something is seriously broken with the world when a band with music this good finds itself forced to give it away.
I wondered why I hadn’t heard of these guys. A quick search showed that Exitfare mentioned them first in June, 2005. Both Underrated and You Ain’t No Picasso brought them up back in February of this year (then YANP brought them down for a live show, about which I can’t find a write-up?). But c’mon: I should be sick of hearing about this band by now. We've got work to do. tags: sure juror
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Your description of this band reminds me of The Oranges Band. Good call J.
Looking forward to your next Band of the Day. ; )