Straight from the valleys of South Wales, Jarcrew were written off by this reviewer as another one of those MTV2 emo bands. How wrong I was. This, their second album, is a record of huge ambition and scope.
You may already be familiar with single ‘Paris and the New Math’, probably the most immediate track on the album it’s a fine slab of spiky agit rock. Elsewhere, however, Jarcrew flit between styles like a kid with attention deficit disorder after a packet of Skittles. Opener ‘Money Shot’ throbs and hums with floor quaking electronic basslines before crashing in with guitars and shouty vocals that bring to mind At the Drive In. ‘Bill Carson’ and ‘Capobaby’ follow in ‘Paris and the New Math’s’ footsteps in fierce, angular emo-esque metal numbers without the dreadful poppy melodies that so many emo bands blight their records with.
Like the Cooper Temple Clause, a band very similar in attitude if not sound, Jarcrew will not be restricted to just one strain or genre. ‘Komputer’ is a ten minute instrumental that starts pleasantly stoned before building into a controlled guitar workout then once again descending back into mellower pastures before building up once more. ‘Boxcar Trend / I’m in love with Detroit Robots’ (love these titles) is another slight instrumental that utilises trumpets to startling and very beautiful effect. Jarcrew manage to remind me of everyone from UNKLE to Hawkwind to Gang of Four. How many bands could you say that about?
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It doesn’t always work though. ‘Sad Death French Metal’ starts promisingly but collapses under the weight of it’s own noise and post punk guitars. ‘Boy Wonder’ is almost too clever for it’s own good, at it’s best when mixing hard electronic beats and churning guitars it tries to fit in too many styles and becomes incoherent.
That is why ultimately this record is flawed. Jarcrew have reached so far, tried to make an album of all the sounds in their heads, when perhaps it is just too confused for the listener. To fall down whilst trying for such lofty heights though is nothing to be ashamed about. From the evidence here it would seem that there is a bright future awaiting Jarcrew and this record is a fine place to start.
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