Old news, ‘old new’ bands, but still they come; some welcomed, others less so. Jubilee fall into the former category – this assembly of musicians sourced from outfits of greater acclaim and infamy than their new project delivers fuzzed-up pop-rock that ticks all boxes of immediacy. Rocket science? Get fucked mate – rock ‘n’ roll’s not pushed boundaries since the Seventies, and most of that’s best forgotten. It’s all about the confidence, the performance, the belief. And Jubilee have plenty of each.
Those other bands, for latecomers: The Icarus Line, Wires On Fire, Nine Inch Nails, Queens Of The Stone Age. The end product’s little like what an anticipated brew of such constituent parts might equal – Aaron North takes the lead, leaving his guitar-shredding ways in the past, while Michael Schuman, presently of QOTSA, guides these four offerings masterfully, his clear basslines a sign of the self-assuredness he’s developed since leaving Wires On Fire’s basement gigs for stadiums and arenas.
The standout of four is ‘Fuzz Are Down’, the sort of brilliantly pop yet punk song that you know, with its sing-along aesthetics and distorted accessibility, would slay indie clubs given a substantial radio push. It’s also indicative of the fact that Jubilee is no vanity project, a ‘super-group’ for geeks like me. The band wants you to know there’re legs in the five-piece, that this isn’t a stopgap fleeting fancy to fill time between West and East coast tours. Jubilee are here for the long-run, and the album’s on the way.
Old news, the collaborators on it – Josh Homme, Carla Azar and more – but no less welcome for its secrets being so badly kept. Anticipation proper begins here.
Video: 'Rebel Hiss' live at the Camden Barfly
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Read more reviews of this week's singles here
Fuzz Is Down
sounds like Swervedriver, which is always welcome
Rebel Hiss struck me as a bit Weezerish, decent cover of LA from Neil Young's great lost Time Fades Away album too
it was weird watching Aaron stand still and sing, instead of doing his old Icky Line move where he'd straddle the amps and stick his hand down the back of the stack, like he was trying to retrieve money from a sofa
Fuzz Are Down
the fuzz is plural, it seems
I really want to hear this
what's happening with Wires on Fire though?
Dunno...
...I HOPE they make it over here though.
Fuzz Are Down
is the hound's danglies, did you see them t'other week Mike? Apparently those were their first shows ever.
I did
ace.
did you the tour seven-inch?
mine's on orange vinyl
did you GET the tour seven-inch
yadda yadda yadda
Nope
:o(
Rebel Hiss b/w Androgynous
faithful cover of The Replacements classic on the b-side, not as spine-tingling as the original (but then not much is)
Icarus Line
new icarus line interview over at www.icarusline.net
ooh good spot
the Captain's quit again? Gah!
rebel hiss
is a great track! Saw them in cardiff a few weeks ago, very good stuff!